When I serve someone a salad, I want to have something I can feel.
I am in the throes of what I’m calling ‘Project Thirst Bod’ which means I want to trim down my dad bod and get to a place where I can at least get topless by a pool without feeling as though I’m on the cusp of being harpooned.
It’s in these throes I always introduce salads into my weekly food consumption. It’s through gritted teeth, admittedly, as I would much rather be doing snow angels in a Mac & Cheese but needs/musts and all that.
So when I do have a salad, like I said, I want my body to know I’ve eaten. I do have a bunch of salads on this website (I do go through a bit of a phase a few years ago where I thought I was a Deliciously Helmsley Person. I am not) however, I have clung onto big, hearty salads that don’t have my scratching the fridge door at 3am.
This is a warm, deeply spiced salad that is draped across a plethora of leaves and drizzled with a super quick, sexy, gleaming dressing that takes all of seconds to make. It’s a salad that is equally as delicious hot as it is cold the next day at the work desk, and the best part is that everything is done in the oven so you don’t need to panic with too much chopping.
Thumbs up all around.
Preheat the oven to 200c.
Cut up the neck part (the long bit) of a butternut squash into slices. I don’t bother to peel it, just give it a wash. Throw the slices into a deep roasting tray and drizzle them with olive oil.
Scatter over a teaspoon of cumin and smoked paprika. Drop in half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a scattering of salt and pepper. Grate in the zest of one lemon and toss everything together so that it’s evenly coated. Slip in the oven for 40 minutes.
During this time, drain a can of black eyed peas and put them in a bowl. Squirt over a generous tablespoon of tomato paste and stir together so that the BEP’s are coated.
After 20 minutes of the squash roasting, take it out of the oven, fling in the tomatoey BEP’s and then put back in the oven for the final 20 minutes.
During this time, in a jug, combine four tablespoons of natural yogurt with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and some salt and pepper. Give everything a stir. Arrange a big handful of salad leaves on a plate.
Throw the squash and BEP’s on the leaves, drizzle with some of the Mustard Lemon dressing and scatter over some flaked almonds.
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 