Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Feta and Pomegranate

Step 1

Prepare and roast the butternut squash. Start by heating your oven to 200C/400F fan and line a large oven tray with baking paper. There’s no need to peel your squash, I like the contrast of the crispy skin and soft centre. If it’s a bit old and tough, you may want to peel it though, so just play it by ear. Set the squash onto a large board, then carefully cut in half lengthways. Use a teaspoon to scoop the seeds out, then set them aside. Chop each squash half into small cubes, about 3cm squared. Transfer them to the prepared oven tray, then drizzle over 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Give them a mix, then smooth out onto one layer on the tray. Roast for 40 minutes, giving the squash a mix half way through, until the edges are just starting looking charred. PRO TIP: We’re arranging them on one layer on the tray to make sure they roast evenly, and don’t steam and go soggy.

Step 2

Add 1 tablespoon of miso paste, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 2 teaspoons of honey to a small bowl. Give it a good mix with a fork until smooth and creamy, then set aside.

Step 3

Give the set aside squash seeds a rinse under water to remove any squash residue, then dry with a paper towel. Get them into a dry pan over a low heat. Toast, stirring the seeds for a couple of minutes until smelling fragrant and starting to brown. Add the 2 teaspoons of honey and mix it through the seeds for another minute. The honey will sizzle and bubble up as you do this. Remove the pan from the heat then scatter over the sea salt and mix through. Transfer to a plate lined with baking paper and spread them out onto a single layer as they cool and crisp up. PRO TIP: Make sure you do line your plate – the seeds will firm up as they sit and they’ll stick to your plate if you don’t, which will make them very hard to get off (I have made this mistake!)

Step 4

I like to serve this salad by arranging the different layers on a plate, rather than mixing everything together in a bowl. This way, you can really see every part of the salad and all the lovely colours. Place three quarters of the rocket to the base of a large serving plate. Throw the other quarter of rocket onto the squash on the tray and pour over half the dressing. Give it a mix through so the squash and rocket is well coated. Transfer them on top of the rocket that’s already on the plate. Crumble over the feta, then evenly pour the rest of the dressing all over the salad. Finish with the pomegranate seeds, then break off shards of the salted honey pumpkin seeds and scatter them all over the salad. Dig in.