Roast squash salad
Description
This wintery butternut squash salad makes a great side dish to Christmas ham, and would also go well with griddled pear wedges as part of a vegetarian platter of festive dishes.
Ingredients
- ½ large butternut squash or culinary pumpkin, peeled and deseeded
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 150g/5½ oz baby leaf spinach or similar young salad leaves (such as beetroot leaves)
- 50g/1¾oz pumpkin seeds (see recipe tips and how-to video)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- ½ tsp runny honey
- ½ tsp wholegrain mustard
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
- Cut the pumpkin flesh into a fairly small dice and put into a roasting tin. Toss with the oil, thyme and garlic, and season generously.
- Roast for 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin has softened and is well browned around the edges. Allow to cool slightly.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients in large bowl.
- Add the salad leaves to the dressing, season with salt and pepper, then toss lightly. Arrange the leaves over a serving plate. Toss the pumpkin in the same bowl to pick up any residue from the dressing, then arrange over the leaves. Sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds and serve.
