Butternut squash, pomegranate, feta and mint salad with pine nuts

Now HERE is a salad that will bring a smile to your face on a sunny summer's day, and just in time for the London heatwave. I came across it in an issue of the Sunday Times Style supplement, which I normally never read.
Admittedly this is soooo North London, and the very fact that I am able to waltz into my local supermarket and pick up a pomegranate year round is a serious luxury, and one which I don't take lightly.
That said, the original recipe has said that you can happily replace this one ingredient with another sharp, sweet fruit, like a handful of juicy black cherries is what. I also think slices of orange could work.
It is a fantastic mixture of flavours - deep earthy spices roasted, then tempered with creamy feta and sharp, sweet pomegranate, rounded off with the refreshing mint, with the texture of the squash delivering a lovely big bite. It works well with some nice crusty bread, and I think couscous would be equally nice. It's also a nice counter to the more traditional tomato-cucumber-rocket-leaf. It also looks divine, and when we brought it to a picnic last weekend, it was one of the first things to get finished! Yum, yum, yum.

Butternut squash, pomegranate, feta and mint salad with pine nuts (serves four people)

• 1/2 to 3/4 of a large butternut squash
• 2 tbsp crushed chilli flakes (less if you like it with a milder kick)
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp pine nuts (dry toasted)
• 150g feta cheese
• 1 pomegranate
• Bunch of fresh mint

For the dressing:

• 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• A good pinch of caster sugar
• Leftover pomegranate juice (1-2tbsp, taste as you go)
• A small pinch of cinnamon
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Grinding spices

As always, pre-heat your oven. Something in the region of 200C is good. Next, peel your butternut squash, and chop into semi-circle slices (carefully, squash is very slippery and can be tough to chop!) about 1/2 a cm thick. 

Grind your spices in a pestle and mortar with a decent pinch of rock salt and ground black pepper. The mix doesn't have to be perfectly ground into the same texture, mostly just try to crush the coriander seeds. I sadly don't own a pestle and mortar, so I put whatever I'm crushing into a small plastic bowl, and use a rolling pin. It largely works but the spices tend to fly out everywhere. 

Spread the butternut squash across two roasting trays - you don't want to crowd them too much, so do use two trays, and drizzle with about 1 tbsp oil for each tray. Then divide over your spice mix, and use your hands  to make sure it gets a nice coating. Then put it in the oven for about 25 minutes, and check in every now and then, agitating the tray so it doesn't stick and maybe flipping the squash over so they brown on both sides. 

Meanwhile, you can dry toast your pine nuts. Keep an eye on as they don't sizzle, so you forget about them more easily than you think! You can also start picking your seeds out the pomegranate. The best way to do this, I find, is to slice the fruit cleanly in half, then over a bowl, use your hands to break each half apart, and use your fingers to root out the pockets of seeds. Try to save as much juice as possible for the dressing (and don't wear anything white while you're doing it.)

When the squash is done, remove from the oven. It should look somewhat like the below, and not too dried out. 

Butternut squash, ready to come out of the oven

To make a dressing, the original recipe invites you to use that most North-London of all ingredients, pomegranate molasses. I had no such thing, so into a jar I put the juice of the pomegranate that was reserved in the bowl (crushing seeds with a teaspoon if I needed more juice, around 1 or 2 tbsp), 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar,  1 tbsp lemon juice, and a small pinch of cinnamon. To add some sweetness, a pinch or two of caster sugar did the job, then top up with 2 or so tbsps of olive oil, and shake or whisk well.

Next, take your squash, scatter over a large plate, then crumble over the feta, leaving decent sized chunks. Add the pine nuts, and top with the mint and pomegranate. Drizzle dressing over just before service, and enjoy outside in the lovely sunshine (if possible!)

Pomegranate seeds, so pretty

Credit where credit is due: Modified from recipe by Gizzi Erskine in the Sunday Times

Vietnamese Hot and Sour Salad

Soy sauce and tofu haters look away now - this is one hell of a zingy salad which is the perfect antidote to heavy, rich winter comfort food. Now that spring is here, this salad, teeming with lemon grass, coriander, mint, lime, soy sauce and beansprouts is the most amazing way to wake up your tastebuds. I kid you not, the first time I ate this salad, the main thing that concerned me was WHEN CAN I MAKE THIS AGAIN. It also falls nicely into the healthy territory, unless you're keeping an eye on your sodium intake or over-do the vegetable oil with the tofu.
This is also a pretty impressive 'entertaining' dish, as it looks gorgeous on the plate (you should assemble it yourself though, it's a bit fiddly.) And be warned, it is a little on the salad-y side in terms of portions. But so, so amazingly good. As I've said in my previous post on Tofu Sambal, tofu is something most people find a bit too weird to try to cook with but I'm a hell of a convert and at £1 it's pretty cheap protein. I do literally have to stop myself eating it as it's cooking now, I love it so much, and we usually have a couple of packs knocking around the cupboard for a stir fry.
That said I'm no wild evangelist of tofu as a dietary staple - I'm more aware of how the knock-on effect of mass farming of soya beans can be damaging to the environment,  (although nowhere near as bad as the energy that goes into farming a single cow), and additionally regular consumption of soy-products can interfere with your internal chemistry, oestrogen in particular. And I find it comforting that in places like China where the use of tofu is really common, it's often put alongside chicken and pork in dishes. Tofu's a brilliant alternative protein source and tastes really nice, but that said I'm making steak tomorrow! Everything in moderation! Hooray!
Enough out of me about bloody tofu already.


Vietnamese hot and sour salad
For the dressing (make while you're pressing your tofu - lets the flavours mix)

• 80ml of lime juice (about two limes juiced well)
• 80ml of soy sauce
• 3 tbsp grated carrot
• Pinch of chilli flakes
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 4 tbsp caster sugar (NEEDS to be fine sugar, otherwise whizz in a blender)

For the salad 

• One pack of tofu 
• 100g beansprouts
• 125g of rice noodles
• Large handful of mint 
• Large handful of coriander 
• 2 lemongrass sticks
• 2 spring onions
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts (chopped)
• 7 or 8 nice cherry tomatoes, or equivalent in plum tomatoes
• 1/2 a cucumber. [I've made this for someone who hated cucumber and substituted stirfried pak choi, fyi, so don't write it off if you don't like cucumber, I know there's a surprising amount of you out there!]

Step one with tofu is always press it - which simply means carefully taking it out of its package, wrapping it in a single sheet of kitchen roll or clean tea towel, and leaving two dinner plates on top for half an hour to an hour. While that's happening, make the dressing.

Juice the limes, and measure out the juice in a jug to get 80ml, although it won't matter all that much. Add 80ml of soy sauce to the lime juice, bringing the liquidmark up to about 160ml. Crush in two peeled garlic cloves (I have no idea why Jamie Oliver always loves shouting about crushing garlic with the skin on, he maintains it's just a nifty trick but I always find I end up crushing in about half of what I should get, and end up picking bits of garlic skin out so I can get the whole clove in.). Grated and add the 3 tbsp of carrot, a pinch of chilli flakes and finally 4 tbsp of caster sugar. Whisk, whisk, whisk, then have a little taste. I like that really salty punch that soy sauce gives so add a bit more if you like, otherwise, maybe a little more lime, just go with what you think it's best.

After you've let the tofu press, and have drained off the excess water and patted dry with another piece of kitchen roll, slice into thin strips. Put a decent amount of vegetable oil in your best non-stick frying pan and get it quite hot, then delicately add in the strips. While they sizzle away, you can get to the chopping stage.

Using a large knife, if you have one - which it almost always is worth having even if you're only an occasional cook - finely chop the coriander and mint together. Carefully slice off the tough outer skin of the lemongrass, and chop them into thin slices, then add to the coriander and mint, chopping all the while, then chop and add the two spring onions. Put the whole fragrant mix of herbs in your largest bowl, which you'll eventually be mixing the noodles in with. 

If your tofu is still looking a little anaemic and is still not golden, keep frying, and turning every now and then, otherwise feel free to take it off the heat and leave to drain on a piece of kitchen roll. Put a large-ish pot on your kitchen counter, add the beansprouts and noodles and pour over the boiling water. Slam the lid on and leave until the noodles are soft.I used to be able to buy uncooked rice noodles, but now I can only find ones which are already soft, disappointingly. Still, let it sit for five minutes or so.

Using chopsticks to mix the noodles and beansprouts with the chopped herbs

While the noodles are sitting in water, slice your cucumber horizontally into long strips, and cut your tomatoes into halves or quarters, whatever's easier to pick up with chopsticks. Arrange the cucumbers in a round shape (like in the picture) on two plates, and dot the edge with tomatoes.

Drain the softened bean sprouts and noodles over the sink and try to let as much water drip off as possible. Then tip into the big bowl with the mint, coriander, etc. Use chop sticks, if you find it easier, to mix throughly, then tip into the centre of the two plates. Finally, add the tofu on top and sprinkle over some chopped peanuts if you like. Serve the dressing at the table, and enjoy!