Preheat the oven to 180°C

Grab yourself a patty pan. One of the funkiest squashes around.

Turn it upside down and make a circular incision in the bottom. This squash has more flesh on the top than the bottom, so by hollowing out the squash from the bottom you preserve more of the flesh.

Using a spoon handle, lever the central section to loosen it before removing it by hand. Hollow out the squash, reserving the seeds etc for other recipes if desired.

Here are some beans I made earlier. Stir the epazote, sweetcorn and half the grated cheese into the beans.

Stuff the squash with the bean mix and bake in the oven.

Check in after 45 mins to see how it’s doing. You want the flesh to be soft. It will be very hard to pierce the skin so best to test the flesh at the bottom through the hollowed section with a knife or fork. Return to oven if it needs more time.

Once it’s almost cooked, add the rest of the grated cheese to the top and return to oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve. It makes quite the centrepiece. I served with a spoon, flatbread and a light salsa.