Squash, beans, gochujang aioli

Normalise aioli being your sauce of choice

On Sunday I cooked the most I think I’ve ever cooked in one go. Prepping for a shoot on Monday, as well as wanting to get some things in the fridge so I don’t have to eat a lasagne soup from Pret everyday (tasted like a ragu; not bad to be fair), meant I spent a total of four hours non-stop in the kitchen, my preferred state and place to be. On the menu:

• chicken stock made from a carcass I froze a couple of weeks ago because I didn’t have time to make stock before going away (just added onion, veg scraps from the freezer, lots of salt and peppercorns).

• spiced nuts adapted from an Ottolenghi recipe but I swapped in hot honey, coconut lime salt and gochujaru powder

• Roast squash blitzed with white beans, tahini and turmeric for a beautiful yellow dip

• a tortilla for lunch at the shoot, feat too many potatoes (although is there really such a thing)

• the only other dressing I’ll make: maple miso vinaigrette but add Mother Root ginger because it tastes banging (not just because I work for them)

• brothy beans using the above chicken stock – the beans are from Rancho Gordo; I used a mix of yellow eyed and whipple bean because I love them for their slightly chalky consistency.

• a gochujang aioli which is what brings this dish together – it’s so glossy and loose and the secret ingredient is… in the recipe below!

You’ll need…

For the squash:

• 4-5 big chunks of squash (I used crown squash but you can use any you like - this recipe is particularly good with sweeter, softer varieties like crown prince/delica)

• 1 tbsp hot honey

• A big pinch of dukkah

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Salt + pepper

• 3-4 sprigs of fresh roasemary

Pre-heat your oven to 190º. Drizzle your squash chunks (I do them pretty thick) with olive oil, hot honey, dukkah and toss with your hands, making sure everything is coated. Lay the rosemary sprigs underneath and lightly season with salt and pepper before putting them in the oven. Cook until really soft and tender (around 30 minutes) – you want to be able to easily cut into each chunk with the side of a spoon.

For the beans: