Butternut squash with minced meat and béchamel filling

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 500 g minced meat, mixed or of your choice
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 slices of raclette cheese
• 1 pepper, hot
• 0.2 liters of milk
• 0.2 liters of vegetable broth
• 0.2 liters of white wine
• 1 tbsp wheat flour (type 405)
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder, smoked
• nutmeg
• Cayenne pepper
• e.g. butter

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 10 minutes

easy and fast

For the béchamel sauce, heat a little butter, add the flour, and whisk until smooth. The mixture shouldn’t turn dark. Add the vegetable stock, white wine, and milk, and bring to a boil while stirring. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning. The sauce should have a smooth, not too runny consistency and no longer taste of flour. Finally, season with salt and nutmeg and keep warm. Halve the butternut squash or trim off the bottom part, remove the seeds, and hollow it out further if necessary. Brush with butter and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Pre-cook in the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 220°C (fan oven). Check the flesh occasionally with a toothpick to see if it’s cooked through. The toothpick should come through with some resistance. Be careful not to damage the skin. For the filling, finely chop the chili peppers and garlic. Brown the minced meat with garlic and chili peppers and season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Stir in the béchamel sauce and season to taste. Dice the raclette cheese and set aside. Fill the pumpkin alternately with the minced meat mixture and raclette cheese, pressing firmly. Finally, top with more raclette cheese. Bake in the oven at approximately 200°C (grill) for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden brown.