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Seasonal cooking allows life to be simple.  Often encouraging us to be inventive or reintroducing the forgotten or overlooked.  Cooking by season makes it clear what you have to work with, it can also be cheap if you are fortunate to grow your own and inspires to shop local.

So as the nights draw in we are celebrating the exciting and mysterious world of squash.  They come in a myriad of shapes, sizes and colours and really come in to their own for seasonal soups, stews and, of course, carving.  Not only does their warm and comforting taste instantly conjure up autumnal days but they are packed full of a special type of soluble fibre called pectins, which is a powerful prebiotic, plus those orange colours bring an array of carotenoids to pimp up your phytonutrient intake.

Recipe from Sara Buenfeld, via BBC Good Food

Print off to use later - Don't forget to adjust the servings if required.

Butternut Biryani with Cucumber Raita Recipe

What do I love about this recipe? Two things; one butternut squash is in season, and two, it is a great way to get mushrooms into our diet both of which not only support the immune system but also support greater diversity in the microbiome.

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings

Ingredients

• 20 grams dried porcini mushrooms roughly chopped (I have used dried shiitake before)
• 1 tbsp olive oil or Seaweed and Co Rapeseed Oil
• 2 onions sliced
• 1 tbsp garlic cloves shredded
• 1 red chilli deseeded and chopped
• 85 grams brown basmati rice
• 160 grams diced butternut squash prepared weight
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp vegetable bouillon
• 10 cm cucumber grated, core removed
• 125 grams plain, live yoghurt
• 2 tbsp mint chopped, plus a few leaves
• 25 grams toasted flaked almonds

Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings Ingredients 20 grams dried porcini mushrooms roughly chopped (I have used dried shiitake before) 1 tbsp olive oil or Seaweed and Co Rapeseed Oil 2 onions sliced 1 tbsp garlic cloves shredded 1 red chilli deseeded and chopped 85 grams brown basmati rice 160 grams diced butternut squash prepared weight 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp vegetable bouillon 10 cm cucumber grated, core removed 125 grams plain, live yoghurt 2 tbsp mint chopped, plus a few leaves 25 grams toasted flaked almonds

Instructions

1. Pour 425ml boiling water over the dried mushrooms and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli Stir fry briefly over a high heat so they start to soften
3. Add the rice and squash and stir for a few minutes
4. Tip in the cumin and coriander and stir in the mushrooms and their water with the bouillon Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is tender
5. Meanwhile mix the cucumber and yoghurt with the mint to make a raita
6. Stir the coriander and almonds into the rice when it is ready and serve with the raita and a few extra leaves of mint or coriander.

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