Introduction :

Serve with some crusty bread and if you want to make more of a meal out of it a green salad would be good too.

To fry sage leaves heat a little oil in a frying pan and when very hot add a few leaves. Turn over after a minute or so and then remove from the pan and drain on kitchen towel. Repeat as necessary. Sprinkle with salt. Don’t be alarmed that they aren’t crispy when you remove them from the pan. They soon crisp up after draining. They can be fried in advance and scattered over the top just before serving.

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas6.
2. Cut the squash into quarters, scoop out the seeds and arrange cut side up in a shallow, greased ovenproof dish into which they fit snugly. If using, separate the cloves of garlic and scatter them, unpeeled, around the squash.
3. Sprinkle with olive oil, the sage, sea salt & freshly ground black pepper and cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour until soft and a little bit charred around the edges. This will depend on the size and age of the squash.
4. Remove from the oven, pour a little single cream over the squash, if using and crumble the cheese into the cavities and all over the rest of the squash. Roughly break up the walnuts or pecans and scatter over. Put back in the oven for a few minutes until the cream and cheese are bubbling.
5. Tear the Parma ham into rough strips and drape artistically over the squash, followed by another glug of olive oil and the fried sage leaves if using. (See above)