Cooking: Roast

Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6; lower and the squash will still cook but won’t colour. Rub your squash pieces with a generous amount of olive oil, season well and spread them across a baking tray so they’re not crowded. Add a sprinkling of chilli or ground spice if you like, but if you are using herbs such as thyme or rosemary add them 5–10 minutes before the end of the cooking time as they burn easily. Squash will take 20–40 minutes, depending on size of the pieces, type of squash, time of year, water content and how caramelised you want it. A light squeeze will tell you if it’s cooked; you don’t want to roast it to a pulp, so if it yields to pressure it is done. ideas on how to use your roasted squash.