Butternut Squash & Couscous Salad

healthy recipe

Our Bala Brook cook, Christine, recently recommended Davina’s Sugar-Free in a Hurry recipe book.  Christine is an avid foodie and is always trying new recipes.  Upon this recommendation I’ve bought this book and I’m enjoying making the recipes which are super simple with easily accessible ingredients.  Even if you are not following a sugar-free diet this book gives a wide selection of healthy meal options.  This weekend  I made this butternut squash & couscous salad.  Really quick and simple plus any leftovers can be used for packed lunches.  I served this as a side dish to oven roasted fish.

Serves 4
Prep: 15 mins / Cooking: 30 mins

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
1 red onion, cut into wedges
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
200g barley couscous
200ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
small handful of mint leaves, chopped
30g pumpkin seeds
2 tsp chilli sauce (sriracha is good)
150g plain yogurt
salt & black pepper

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/ Fan 180C/Gas 6.  Top and tail the butternut squash and cut it in half. [Tip Leave the skin on to save time] Remove the seeds, then cut the squash into long wedges and put them in a roasting tin with the onion.  Drizzle with some of the oil, scatter over the cinnamon and paprika and season well.  Roast for 30 minutes or until the squash and onion wedges are tender and slightly charred, turning the squash halfway through.
  2. Meanwhile, put the couscous in a heatproof bowl and pour over enough of the hot stock to just cover it.  Add the rest of the oil and the lemon zest.  Cover the bowl and set the couscous aside for 5 minutes or until it has absorbed the stock.  Fluff it up with a fork and then stir in the lemon juice and half the chopped mint.
  3. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan over a low heat for about 2 minutes or until crisp and lightly golden.
  4. Tip the couscous on to a serving dish and top with the roasted squash and onion.  Mix the chilli sauce with the yogurt in a small jug, then pour this over the salad.  Scatter over the pumpkin seeds and the rest of the chopped mint and serve.

Davinia’s book includes Light Meal & Soups, Speedy Salads, Easy Suppers, Weekend Specials, Guilt-free Snacks.  Plus a 5 week meal plan for a guide to eating less sugar and eating wholesome home-cooked food.

Recipe credit: Davina McCall