As the seasons progress and the evenings get longer what I want for dinner changes. In Winter I want warm bowls of soup with something crunchy to dip in it, but as Spring approaches I crave colourful salads, Turtle bean and butternut salad with green herb dressing definitely satisfies.
Since we first eat with our eyes, a good salad has to be more than a mix of vegetables. A great salad should be a combination of colours, shapes and textures that collectively make the dish visually desirable. It has to have all of these things, and of course, great flavours.
This is what I think of as a trans-seasonal salad: Layers of greens with oil-free roasted butternut, fresh cherry tomatoes and quick-pickled red onions. Add some smoky slices of roasted red pepper, cubes of cashew feta and lastly turtle beans coated in a fresh herby dressing.
Exact quantities are not necessary – serves 4 to 6, as main or side dish
Turtle bean and butternut salad
Ingredients and method
- 2 cups butternut squash – Cut into bite-size pieces, toss in water or vegetable stock smoked paprika. Roast on a grease-proof lined baking tray at 180ºC until tender.
- 2 roasted red peppers – plate red peppers on a lined baking tray and roast in the oven at 180ºC until the skin is dark and blistered. Place in a covered bowl or paper bag so they sweat and the skins are easier too remove. Peel the skins and remove the stems and seeds. Slice into long strips.
- 1 red onion – thinly sliced into rings – put in a non-metallic container, add 2 Tbsp of aged white balsamic or white wine vinegar topped up with cold water. Set aside to lightly pickle, the longer they are left, the more intense the colour change. More ideas for pickled red onions here.
- 250g cherry tomatoes – I like to use a mix of colours, partly because they look nice and I like the variation in flavours.
- 2 cups cooked turtle beans – I try to always have beans in various stages of readiness in the freezer, some soaked, some cooked. Tinned are fine, preferably with no added salt.
- 3 Cups mizuna – Any bitter green leaf would work, I like the shape of mizuna or rocket, but baby spinach works too.
- 1/2 Cup cashew feta – or any plant-based cheese of your choice, lightly toasted nuts would work too.
No-oil chimichurri dressing
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, for me, this depends on what is growing either outside or in my kitchen, a mix or coriander, parsley and chives works well, basil would add a sweetness. Finely diced red chilli, quantity depends on your palette. Zest and juice of a lime. Dash of aged white balsamic for sweetness and enough water to make a dressing to coat your turtle beans. Blend together. Adjust the seasoning or acidity to suit your taste. If you prefer a sweeter dressing, some agave syrup of fruit paste can be added.
Love
If you love butternuts or there varieties of pumpkin, check these recipes out!
