Home » Baked butternut cups with mince and cheese topping
zimbabwe-butternut-mince

Baked butternut cups with mince and cheese topping

4 Servings ~ 1 hr 10 minutes
  • 2 large butternuts
  • 100g cheddar cheese, grated
  • Cooked mince for stuffing

This idea struck me the other time when I was cutting butternuts for a totally different meal. I wasn’t too sure what the outcome would be and for the first time I was even nervous to try it out because I was afraid to fail, because there was a delicate balance between having the cups hold their shape whilst getting them cooked through at the same time! Thank goodness it worked out great and the family loved them 🙂 a ‘phew’ moment!!! 😀 I used this mince recipe to stuff the butternuts.

Quick Instructions

  1. Wash your butternuts (2 large). Cut them in half horizontally. Peel and de-seed them. Use a knife to create holes in the centre and you can use a tablespoon to scoop out the flesh and “perfect” the butternut cups. Put them in a good sized pot where they are not squashed and bring to the boil for about 15 minutes.
  2. After 15 minutes, drain excess water, put them on a cooling rack and allow them to cool.Once cooled, place them in a pyrex or oven proof dish. Brush them with a little vegetable or olive oil.
  3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius on bake. Stuff the butternut cups with the mince. CLICK HERE for the recipe I used to prepare the mince. Bake the butternut cups for about 40-45 minutes. Add cheese (100g, grated) and return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes and you’re done. Enjoy!
Also see  Pan fried Matemba (Kapenta) with onion

Pictorial Detailed Instructions

Step 1
Wash your butternuts (2 large) (a). Cut them in half horizontally. Peel and de-seed them. Use a knife to create holes in the centre and you can use a tablespoon to scoop out the flesh and “perfect” the butternut cups (b). Put them in a good sized pot where they are not squashed (c) and bring to the boil for about 15 minutes (d).

 

Step 2
After 15 minutes, drain excess water (a), put them on a cooling rack and allow them to cool (b). Once cooled, place them in a pyrex or oven proof dish (c). Brush them with a little vegetable or olive oil (d).

 

Step 3
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius on bake. Stuff the butternut cups with the mince. CLICK HERE for the recipe I used to prepare the mince. Bake the butternut cups for about 40-45 minutes (a). Add cheese (100g, grated) and return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes (c) and you’re done (d). Enjoy!

 

zimbabwe-butternut-mince(s)
Enjoy!

You can serve this as an appetizer or as a main together with roast potatoes, potato wedges, some pasta or even rice and a salad. Try it and let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear from you. Never miss any recipes published on this blog. Sign up here for my mailing list.