Nigella’s latest book Simply Nigella features what the Domestic Goddess dubs ‘feel good food’. Whilst we have already embarked on cooking our way through this cook book, one recipe we noted for a simple, autumnal lunch that can quickly be multiplied from a meal-for-one up to…as many as you need is the butternut and halloumi burgers, which we prefer to call butternut pitta pockets. The 40 minutes of cooking time may not seem quick, but there is nothing you need to do to the food whilst it is in the oven.

Whatever you want to call them, they are a delicious, vegetarian lunch that can be made with very little notice. We always keep a packet of pittas in the freezer, to defrost directly in the toaster whenever needed. Butternut squash and tomato are both almost guaranteed to be in our fridge at this time of the year, so a quick trip to the local shop for some halloumi was all that was needed to make this recipe.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• Olive oil
• Dried oregano
• 1 block of halloumi cheese
• Pitta breads (wholemeal if you’re feeling particularly healthy)
• 2 large tomatoes

Recipe:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC. Wash the butternut squash and slice into rounds about 1.5cm thick, starting at the thin end. As you approach the bulbous end of the squash (which contains all the seeds), you can either stop or continue to cut and scoop out the seeds – the leftover rings can be used for roast vegetables in another recipe.
2. Drizzle each butternut squash disc with a little olive oil and oregano, and place on a baking tray. Cook for 20 – 30 minutes in the oven.
3. In the meantime, slice the halloumi and then place a piece of the hard cheese onto each slice of butternut squash and bake for a further 10 minutes until just golden around the edges. 
4. Lightly toast the pittas in the oven or toaster and cut each in half, to form a wide opening.
5. Slice the tomato into thick chunks, then load each pitta with a round of butternut squash, halloumi and tomato. Ta-dah, lunch is served.