Roasted butternut squash, hazelnut, seedy salad with pomegranate and crispy rosemary
This recipe was originally written for Town & Country UK.
I love the colours of this salad. It is one that never fails to bring sunshine to an autumnal table no matter the weather. I am generous with the seeds and nuts giving it a bit of a richness and crunchy indulgence – something we could all do with as we bid farewell to summer. The crispy rosemary adds a delicious aroma to the whole thing and is not to be missed. I learned the trick of deseeding pomegranates without splashing juice everywhere from my interview with Prue Leith on my podcast Come For supper. You can listen to it here.
Ingredients
1 butternut squash
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
100g hazelnuts
50g sunflower seeds
50g pumpkin seeds
100g spinach/watercress/rocket or a mix
1 pomegranate
Handful rosemary
For the dressing
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp clear honey
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp mixed spice
Method
Preheat your oven to 200° fan setting.
Chop your butternut squash into roughly 1cm cubes. (see note for seeds)
Place the chopped squash onto baking tray. Sprinkle over the mixed spice and cayenne pepper, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Massage to coat with your hands. Roast for 40 mins until cooked and charred in places.
Place hazelnuts onto a separate clean baking tray and cook for 8-10 mins until they begin to smell nutty. Remove and allow to cool before roughly chopping.
Place your seeds into a clean frying pan over a medium heat and toast, tossing continuously for about 5 mins until they have browned and popped a little. Transfer to a plate to cool.
To prepare your pomegranate seeds quarter the pomegranate and fill a bowl with cold water. Using your hands, place the pomegranate quarters one by one under the water and release the pomegranate seeds. This ensure the juice doesn’t fly everywhere and allows the white pith to rise to the top of the water.
Allow the pomegranate seeds to sink to the bottom and then scoop the pith from the top. Drain and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen roll.
To make the crispy rosemary place a good glug of olive oil in a frying pan. Add one leaf to test the heat. When the leaf begins to sizzle you know the oil is hot enough.
Place all the rosemary leaves into the hot oil (taking care is it will spit) and let it cook for 15-20 seconds before removing with a fork and placing on a kitchen towel lined plate to drain the oil.
To make the dressing whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
When ready to serve place your roasted squash, salad leaves, roasted hazelnuts, seeds and pomegranate seeds (reserving a few to sprinkle on at the end if you wish) into a large mixing bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss gently using your hands.
Transfer to a large serving plate and sprinkle over with the crispy rosemary. Enjoy!
