Roast BNS* and Chickpea Salad (*Butternut Squash) #nosadsalads no.6

And just like that, it’s August and we’ve come to the end of six weeks of the #nosadsalads series. So let’s finish the series with a bang! I just had to have a dedicated BNS salad on the list, I think it’s one of the most underrated vegetables and so incredibly versatile. And so delicious! If you are into aubergine parmigiana then I highly recommend trying a BNS version.

This is one of my go-to crowd-pleaser salads, and it’s even got the dietitian seal of approval at a ‘bring and share’ team lunch! My mum makes a really good warm salad like this but uses chorizo and blood oranges instead of feta and pomegranate. I still think about it a lot!  Definitely play around and try different combinations, I like the chickpeas for texture and protein but feel free to use any left-over chicken or chorizo instead.

Ingredients

·        One small butternut squash – cut into smallish cubes, I leave the skin on but feel free to peel if you prefer

·        Chickpeas 1 tin

·        1 tsp ground cumin

·        1 tsp ground coriander

·        Olive oil, salt and pepper

·        Salad leaves

·        Feta – about 50g

·        The seeds from half a Pomegranate / small pot of seeds

Dressing  

• 2 x small handfuls of finely chopped fresh herbs  (mint/coriander/parsley)

• Apple cider vinegar 2 tbs

• Olive oil 2 tbs

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

2.      On a large roasting tray spread the BNS, drizzle with oil and roast for 20 minutes until starting to soften and colour.

3.      While that’s in, drain and rinse your chickpeas, then drain again. Drain really well!

4.      Pop them in a bowl, drizzle with oil and mix in the spices, salt and pepper.

5.      Once the 20 minutes is up, take the tray of BNS out and scatter the chickpeas over. Put the tray back in the oven for 15 minutes, until the chickpeas are starting to crisp up nicely. Once done, leave to cool a little, if it’s too hot it will wilt the leaves.

6.      While that is cooking mix all the dressing ingredients in a little jar and shake to mix- make sure the lid is tightly on!

7.      Time to assemble: start with the leaves, then layer the chickpea and BNS, next the feta, the pomegranate seeds and finely drizzle the dressing all over. Toss to mix and enjoy!

P.S. If you want to travel with this, put the feta into the jar with the dressing, keep the rest separate and combine just before serving!