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 removes the 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.
- 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 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!
