Nigel Slater's midweek dinner: bacon, apple and butternut squash

The recipe

Serves 2. Ready in 40 minutes.

Cut 450g of butternut squash in half and then into pencil-thick slices. Warm 30g of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large, wide sauté pan or frying pan, then add the squash, season with salt and black pepper and cook for about 10 minutes over a moderate heat, turning occasionally.

Halve, core and thickly slice 2 medium apples. Remove the butternut from the pan when it is tender and keep warm. Add the apples to the pan together with 6 roughly crushed juniper berries, keeping the heat moderate. When the apples are approaching tenderness, about 6 or 7 minutes, scoop the apples out and add them to the butternut. Place 4 rashers of smoked back bacon in the pan, together with 6 more roughly crushed juniper berries.

Let the bacon sizzle until the fat is golden, then remove from the pan and spoon in 150g of crème fraîche, a handful of chopped parsley and 2 tsp of grain mustard and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Divide the bacon, butternut and apples between 2 plates or shallow bowls and serve with the mustard and juniper sauce.

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  If the woodsy, faint bitterness of juniper isn’t your thing, then I suggest a scatter of lightly crushed fennel seeds.

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  I sometimes make this with slices of crumbly black pudding in place of the bacon. Cut the pudding into slices about 1cm thick, then add it to the pan. Leave to cook until the underside is starting to crisp – about 5 minutes – then flip it over and cook the other side.