Sadza with roast butternut and cheese

I found this recipe on a vegetarian blog and adapted it from using polenta to sadza.  It’s lovely with a roast or braai and even people who profess not to like sadza will eat it!  If you want it to be firm enough to cut into slices it’s important to let it cool down completely in the fridge before baking it, so you need to start it fairly early in the day.

Sadza with roast butternut and cheese

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash, peeled and sliced into 1 inch cubes

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp dried sage, crumbled

Salt and freshly ground pepper

6 cups water

2 cups sadza (or polenta)

1 chicken stock cube

a little butter

1/2 cup smoked Gouda (or similar cheese), grated

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 200°C.  Arrange the butternut on a large oiled baking sheet, toss with a little olive oil and roast for 30 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a bowl and mash roughly.

Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and sage and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden.

Put 2 cups of sadza, 6 cups of boiling water, a chicken stock cube and 1/4 tsp salt in a microwave proof bowl and stir well until there are no lumps.  Microwave on high for 4 minutes, stir well and then microwave for another 4 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter along with the mashed butternut, onion, Gouda and half of the grated Parmesan. Pour the hot sadza into a buttered large cast-iron pot or ovenproof frying pan. Flatten the top of the sadza slightly without spreading it to the edges and put it in the fridge until firm, (about 3 hours).

Rub the surface of the sadza with a little softened butter and sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan. Bake in a 200°C oven for 1 hour, until the top and sides are lightly browned and crisp. Let stand for 20 minutes before cutting it into wedges.