TODAY'S recipe comes from MasterChef winner Natalie Coleman's new book - Winning Recipes For Every Day.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6-8

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1 to 2cm chunks (chopped weight 650g)
Leaves from 1 rosemary sprig
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
25g butter
1½ large red onions, sliced
1tbsp caster sugar
4-5tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 x 375g sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
2tbsp pine nuts
4-5tbsp mascarpone cheese
1 red chilli, finely sliced, or ½tsp chilli flakes
1 egg, beaten, for glazing
Handful of rocket leaves, to garnish (optional)
Salt and pepper

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7. Place the butternut squash in a baking tray and sprinkle with the rosemary leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan on a low heat, warm the oil and melt the butter. Add the onions, sugar and four tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and season well with salt and pepper. Cook gently for 25 minutes until the onions are caramelised.

Just before the squash and onions are ready, unroll the pastry onto a large baking sheet and score a border around it, about 1.5cm from the edge, like a picture frame. Using a fork, prick all over the pastry inside the ‘frame’.

When the squash and onions are ready, remove the onions from the pan using a slotted spoon. Spread the onions evenly over the centre of the pastry (staying within the border), scatter with the squash, sprinkle on the pine nuts and dollop the mascarpone on top.

Season with a little more salt and a good grinding of pepper. Sprinkle with the chilli, if using. Brush the border with beaten egg, so you get a nice shine on the pastry.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Garnish with rocket, if using.

Winning Recipes For Every Day by Natalie Coleman, Quercus, £20. Available now.