ROAST BUTTERNUT SQUASH, LABNEH, WALNUT GREMOLATA AND POMEGRANATE SALAD
I made this delicious Salad for dinner during the week and even the committed carnivores in the house loved it !!!!
We ate the leftovers the next day for lunch and it tasted just as good.
It does require a bit of planning as you have to make the Labneh the day before. The Labneh is delicious and creamy and you could use this for lots of other recipes, as a dip or as an accompaniment to a cheese board. You can add herbs such as coriander, mint, parsley depending on what you want to serve it with.
Both the Dressing and Gremolata are delicious and could also be used with lots of other Salads.
It looks like it has a lot of ingredients, but each component is easy to put together and then the final dish comes together very quickly and easily.
LABNEH
- 400g Greek Yoghurt (full fat)
- 2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
- good pinch of Sea Salt
BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SALAD
- 1 large or 2 small Butternut Squash
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 5 cm Ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- Ground Black Pepper
- juice of 1/2 small lemon
- Salad leaves
- bunch Coriander Leaves
- seeds from 1 Pomegranate
GREMOLATA
- 35g Walnuts
- zest of 1 Lemon
- 2 Garlic cloves, crushed
- small bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley
DRESSING
- 4 teaspoons Pomegranate Molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Lemon Juice
The day before you wish to eat the Salad, make the Labneh. Line a sieve with a piece of muslin (or a brand new J cloth) and put it over a bowl.
Mix the Yoghurt with the Garlic and Salt.
Tip into the cloth, tie it up and put in the fridge. The Yoghurt will lose its moisture over the next 24 hours, giving you a firm creamy garlicy “cheese”.
The next day !!!
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Cut the Butternut Squash in half lengthways, peel off the skin and scoop out the seeds. Slice the Butternut Squash across the width into approx 1 1/2 cm slices. Put onto a roasting tray.
Heat the 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil, Cinnamon, Cayenne and chopped Ginger in a small saucepan until just warm.
Pour the warm Olive Oil over the Butternut Squash pieces and make sure each piece is coated in the spicy mixture. Season with Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper.
Roast in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes until they are soft and caramalised, turning them over every 15 minutes. Once cooked to your liking pour over the Lemon Juice.
Make the Gremolata by toasting the Walnuts in the oven for 5 minutes, taking care that they do not burn. Chop the toasted Walnuts and the Parsley and add to the Lemon Zest and crushed Garlic and mix thoroughly.
Make the Dressing by putting all the ingredients into a jar and giving a good shake. Taste and make sure it has a good sweet-sour balance.
Take the Labneh out of the cloth and break it up into small pieces.
Pour the dressing over your salad and coriander leaves and toss to coat them.
Place the dressed Salad Leaves on a nice serving plate and place the Roasted Butternut Squash on top. Sprinkle over the Gremolata and the Pomegranate Seeds. Place pieces of the Labneh over the Salad.
Enjoy !!!!
This recipe is based on the Roast Pumpkin, Labneh, Walnut Gremolata and Pomegranate dish in the Diana Henry book, A Change of Appetite. A lovely cookbook with delicious recipes, one for your cookbook shelf!!!!
