Butternut Squash, Sage & Blue Cheese Pithivier

Recipe:
Peel the butternut squash and cut the top or the neck of it away. Keep this for another dish. Cut the base in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Place the squash in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes until it’s tender, strain and allow to steam dry and cool.

Lay a sheet of pastry out on a lightly floured surface. Evenly divide the sage leaves and blue cheese and stuff into the cavity of each squash half.
Place them cut-side down, rounded-side up onto the pastry and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. With a round cutter or a knife, cut around each squash leaving a 4cm border.

Brush the pastry and squash halves with the egg wash before draping the second sheet of pastry over the top. Gently press down so it binds with the bottom sheet of pastry. Carefully crimp the edges to secure them together, then trim off any excess pastry with a cutter.

This should result in two dome-shaped pies. Make two small incisions on top of each dome to create a vent. Then with the tip of a knife, gently score each pie from top to the bottom to give a pleated effect. Pop them in the fridge and chill for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Egg wash the pithiviers and cook in the oven for 20–30 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving with your favourite vegetables or potatoes.