Spiced Squash and Orzo with Crispy Feta

Hi, this recipe is from the Tesco magazine, October 2020 issue, you can pick up their magazine each month in store and it's full of delicious recipes and general tips that I love. 100% recommend. Additionally, all recipes are on their website too, but Here is this one. The flavour was delicious and very autumnal. But, my parents found it too spicy, we think this was because I used our super hot chilli powder rather than the mild one so make sure if you are making it you use something you know you can handle. To combat the spice, we had a spoonful of Greek yoghurt on top to cool it down and it was actually a very tasty addition, which I recommend you try, even if it's not too spicy. Also, I served mine with some roasted peppers on the side. Enjoy!!

Dietary Info:
-Contains Gluten {feel free to substitute for a GF pasta}
-Contains Dairy {Either leave out the cheese or use a dairy-free alternative. It will be harder to substitute the feta than the parmesan though}
-No Nuts
-Suitable for Vegetarians {If you don't use parmesan}
-Unsuitable for Vegans {To make it fine, make it dairy-free, see above}

Serves: 4
Takes: 55mins
Cost per serve: £1.29 (This may differ depending on the season and shop you go to)

Cook's Tip: Clean and rinse squash seeds before baking with the spices of your choice
                    If you don't have any squash you can use sweet potato instead.
                    You can leave the skin on the squash, if you like, especially if you're roasting it

Each serving contains:
Calories: 628kcal (31%)
Fat: 24g (34%)
Saturates: 13g (66%)
Sugars: 8g (9%)
Salt: 1.3g (22%)
Carbohydrate: 76g
Protein: 28g
Fibre: 3g
of the reference intake

Ingredients:
-800g butternut squash, peeled (optional), deseeded and cut into chunks (650g prepared weight) {I peeled mine and we had a bit of extra squash left over as I roasted about 250g more squash than said. So, the next day I had some beand on toast with the leftover spiced quash and it was actually quite nice}
-2tbsp olive oil {I use extra virgin}
-6 thyme sprigs, leaves picked, plus extra to garnish {I used about 1tbsp, maybe a bit more of dried thyme}
-1/2tsp crushed chillies {I used a super spicy chilli powder that one of my dad's friends gave to us, it was made by him with his own homegrown chillies.}
-1tsp smoked paprika
-3 garlic cloves, crushed {Or finely chopped}
-200g pack feta, cut into 12 slices
-2tbsp cornflour
-300g orzo
-75g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated
-15g fresh basil, leaves picked {I used dried}
-1/2 lemon, zested and juice

Method:
1: Preheat the oven to gas 6/200℃/180℃ fan/390℉. Mix the squash with 1tbsp oil, the thyme, chillies, paprika and garlic on a baking tray. Bake for 45mins, or until golden and tender. {I roasted mine for about 50-55mins}
2: Meanwhile, toss the feta in the cornflour. Heat 1tbsp oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Fry the feta in a single layer for 1-2mins each side until golden and crisp. {Don't do this until the pasta is almost ready as it is nice when it is warm}
3: Meanwhile, cook the orzo to pack instructions. Drain and toss with the hard cheese, basil and lemon juice. Mix with the squash and top with the feta, lemon zest and extra thyme leaves to serve.