Lately, a lot of people have asked me to post a recipe for something easy to prepare on a weeknight. Well, you asked for it and here it is. 🙂
While it’s still autumn, let’s stick to the warm colours and loads of pumpkin!
We recently had a braai at our house and I had to make some side dishes. Having butternut in the house mostly all year round, I thought it would be easy to make use of this wonderful, versatile vegetable. Who says butternut can only be eaten cooked?
This salad is really easy to prepare just before the meat on the braai is cooked. The guests will hardly notice you were gone!
Ingredients
- Salad Dressing:
- 2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- ½ Teaspoon Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Wholegrain Mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Red Onion
- A Pinch of Salt
- Pepper to taste
- Salad:
- ± 1½ Cups Shaved Butternut (± ½ of a very small butternut)
- ± 1½ Cups Shaved Carrots (± 2 medium carrots)
- 2 Cups Rocket (I prefer wild rocket, but normal rocket is also fine)
- A Handful of Dates
- A Handful of Sunflower Seeds
- A Handful of Pumpkin Seeds
Instructions
- To make the salad dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a small glass jar with a lid. With the lid secured tightly, shake the jar vigorously until it is well combined and an emulsion has formed. Leave it in the refrigerator until later.
- To make the salad, peel the butternut and remove the seeds. With a peeler, shave the butternut to form long thin slices. Repeat this process with the carrots. There is no need to peel the carrots first – you can use the outer layer if is has been properly scrubbed with a brush to remove all of the soil. Less wastage!
- Combine the butternut, carrots and salad dressing in a mixing bowl. Allow to ‘marinate’ for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dates into smaller pieces – whichever size you prefer.
- Over medium heat in a non-stick pan (without any oil), toast the seeds for a few minutes. Please stir them every ten or so seconds as they can burn easily. They will start popping when they are busy toasting. Once they are golden brown, remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool completely. The seeds can be eaten raw, but I prefer the flavour of toasted seeds – it really does enhance the flavour and bring out a nutty taste that wasn’t there before.
- Carefully place the ‘marinated’ butternut and carrots on a platter or in a salad bowl. Add the rocket. Lastly, scatter the dates and seeds over the rocket. You can also combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and then empty onto a platter or into a salad bowl – it is entirely up to you and which look you are going for.
- I have added some goat’s cheese pecorino to this salad and it really works well. It is also recommended that you grate in fresh horseradish with the salad, but I cannot seem to find it anywhere, so I have added horseradish cream to my portion.
- Serve immediately.
BTW – Toasted seeds are great as healthy snacks throughout the day! Read more about the benefits here and here.
Feel free to play around with the ingredients. Grating the butternut and carrots can also work!