Garden fresh – roasted butter nut squash salad with rosemary and lemon thyme

Anna has planted a lot of herbs in our garden and it has afforded us numerous opportunities to boost the flavours of our dishes with fresh herbs.  We had a roasted butter nut squash salad the other night which was straightforward to make and used fresh rosemary and lemon thyme from the herb patch.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 butter nut squash
  • 2-3 sprigs of rosemary
  • Small handful of lemon thyme
  • Bag of mixed salad leaves
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 4

How do I make it?

Split the butter nut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil and rub through the squash before dressing with rosemary and lemon thyme.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper and bake in a 180 degree pre heated oven for 40-45 minutes.  Check on the squash with a skewer and ensure it is cooked through (needs to still be firm and not mushy).  Place leaves in a salad bowl and drizzle remaining olive oil, sherry vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Remove squash from oven and peel the skin away and chop into bite size cubes.   Place leaves in serving dish and add a generous portion of the squash.

Sunday Soup

Sunday is the day I try to clear out our refrigerator.  I usually find some   tired and limp veggies lurking  in the fridge and absolutely hate wasting them. Sometimes we buy packets of herbs for dishes we make during the week and often find that there is a bit leftover. A ll my leftover herbs go into my wholesome Sunday soup.  Shiv and I try to make our soups interesting.  He is a lot better than I am.  I admit defeat when it comes to finesse.  I am the pedestrian home cook and he is more  the chef.  My soup last Sunday had Moroccan flavours and a lot of vegetables which were saved and used before they rotted and had to be thrown away.

I am not going to write a specific recipe for the soup because one can use any vegetable lying around in their refrigerator.  I used carrots, parsnips, broccoli, radish  green peppers, celery, potatoes, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, mint, fresh coriander a few curry leaves and garlic.  I sautéed onion and garlic in a bit of butter.  Just as they softened,  I added a bit of salt and two teaspoons of Moroccan Rose Harrissa paste, a teaspoon of cumin powder and then all my vegetables and herbs.  I  then added about a liter of water and two vegetable stock cubes and cooked the vegetables till they were soft enough to be blended.  Once blended I poured enough water to get it to my desired consistency and brought to a boil.  For the garnish,Image I sautéed fresh Rosemary  in butter. I served the soup with a dollop of soured cream with the Rosemary butter drizzled on top.  A delicious and healthy way to use up all my veggies.

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