Justin Woods, head chef at the Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, and Greenhouse restaurant

A friend has given me a butternut squash but I’m not sure how best to use it. What would chef do?

Butternut squash has to be in my top five vegetables - amazing versatile, pretty cheap, great in lots of dishes and is widely available these days. You can make soup with it, you can make a risotto with it, you can make a squash and chick pea stew with it, you can even make a hummus with it. But, for me, it’s an amazing ingredient for making a very simple curry. Peel one large butternut squash and cut into approx 1.5cm dice. Cut 2 large red peppers into a similar sized dice. Place 3 tbsp. vegetable into a large frying pan, add 2 tbsp. madras curry paste, cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the diced squash and the diced peppers, add a 440g tin of coconut milk and 200ml cold water. Cook over a low heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the squash is tender and the sauce thickened. Finish with plenty of chopped coriander and serve with some steamed rice and naan breads.