Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Tahini Dressing
A Roasted Butternut Squash & Kale Salad
This Roasted Butternut Squash Salad is really adaptable, depending on what you can get hold of and what you like. The roasted squash is tender, with caramelised edges and a nice bite from the skin, and the squash seeds add an extra crunchy pop to the slices. The carrots are spiced with Ras El Hanout, with a gentle kick from the chilli flakes. The sweetness of the carrots is paired with the tartness of the pomegranate molasses, but lemon juice would work just as well. It’s built up with kale and salad leaves, two greens which contrast each other nicely. Finally, it’s dressed with the radishes and tomatoes and finished with a drizzle of tahini along with toasted roughly-chopped almonds.
It’s a salad that uses summer ingredients like tomatoes, salad leaves, and baby carrots, yet introduces those beautiful and comforting Autumnal ingredients like squash and kale.
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
- 400g Butternut Squash
- A large handful of Kale or Cavolo Nero roughly chopped
- A handful of Whole Almonds
- 6 Cherry Tomatoes halved
- 3 Radishes sliced
- 6 Baby Carrots or 2 Carrots
- 2 tbsp tahini
- ½ a Lemon
- 1 tsp Ras El Hanout
- ¼ tsp Chilli Flakes if you like a little heat
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Pomegranate Molasses or 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Spring Onions finely sliced
- 2 handfuls of mixed salad leaves
- 4 garlic cloves
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Slice and de-seed the squash (save the seeds!), leaving the skin on. Cut into 2cm-thick slices then cut these in half to create C shapes. Toss the squash in 1 tbsp olive oil, the garlic cloves, and a generous sprinkling of salt, then roast in the oven on the top shelf for 45 minutes, turning halfway through.
- Rinse your saved squash seeds, removing any pulp. Pat them dry and sprinkle over the squash 10 minutes towards the end.
- Rinse your carrots. If using baby carrots you can leave them whole, if not then quarter them lengthways. Place in a roasting tin and shake them in the Ras El Hanout, chilli flakes if you like some heat, and the pomegranate molasses or maple syrup. Roast for 25 minutes, turning halfway. Add the whole almonds 10 minutes before the carrots are ready.
- Massage the kale with a little olive oil and start building your salad in your bowls with the kale, salad leaves, sliced radishes, and tomatoes. Whisk the tahini with a little water and lemon juice to a dressing consistency.
- When the seed-crusted squash and spiced carrots are caramelised and tender, finish your salad with a few pieces of each. Roughly chop the almonds, drizzle with the tahini dressing, then scatter the almonds and spring onions.
MORE RECIPE IDEAS
You can find more tasty food ideas on my blog Cook Shoot and Share. Or for another salad recipe take a look at this Beetroot, Pear & Walnut Salad. You can also follow me on Instagram where you can keep up to date with recipes I make.