Colourful Squash & Lentil Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
Description
The key to a successful day is a colourful lunch. It makes you smile and keeps your brain stimulated. This colourful squash and lentil salad has great ingredients to help you throughout the day. Super foods such as beetroot keep your brain active and boost your energy levels. This recipe is perfect for picnics and office lunches, simply store the salad separate to the leaves and combine just before eating. You can serve this as a full meal for 4 people or a side dish for 6-8. It stores in the fridge for 2 days. If you can’t find Kashmiri chilli powder, consider a blend of paprika and cayenne pepper.
Recipe Tester Feedback: “The end product was pretty impressive looking and tasted great. I loved the dressing. A perfect salad to take on a picnic or to a BBQ, packed full of yummy healthy ingredients.” – Elizabeth
No: Gluten / Dairy / Egg
Contains: Nuts
*Variations: Can be made without Nuts
Ingredients
Salad:
- pumpkin – 1, butternut, peeled, chopped into small 7cm thick chunks
- spring onion – 100g, cut into large chunks
- olive oil – 3 Tbsp
- salt – 1 tsp
- pepper – 1/2 tsp
- chilli powder – 1/2 tsp, Kashmiri
- water – 1.1L
- lentils – 250g, green
- beetroot – 500g, cooked or see options below
- tomato – 250g, cherry
- nuts and seeds of choice – 125g, mixed (such as pumpkin, sesame, chia and sunflower)
- rocket – 90g
Dressing:
- chilli – 1, red
- lime – 1, juice only
- soy sauce – 20g
- balsamic vinegar – 35g
- kecap manis – 15g (or dark soy sauce)
- honey – 25g, runny (or agave nectar)
- olive oil – 20g
- salt – pinch
- pepper – to taste
Instructions
Salad:
- Preheat the oven to 230C. Line large baking tray with baking paper.
- Add half of the butternut squash to the mixing bowl and chop Speed 6 / 3 seconds. Remove and place on the prepared baking tray. Repeat with the other half.
- Rinse the mixing bowl. Add the spring onions (100g) and chop Speed 5 / 2 seconds. Place in a large salad bowl.
- Drizzle the squash with olive oil (3 Tbsp) and sprinkle with salt (1 tsp), pepper (1/2 tsp) and Kashmiri chilli powder (1/2 tsp). Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Optional: If using raw beetroot, place your 1/2 cm slices of beetroot on a baking tray now and bake until cooked through, or using steaming option below.
- In the meantime, rinse the mixing bowl and fill it with water (1.1L) just over the 1L mark. Insert the internal steaming basket, the bottom of it should be just covered with water. Add the lentils (250g) and cook 40 minutes / Steaming Temperature / Stirring Speed. If the water begins to bubble over, turn the heat down to 100C. Once cooked, set aside. Optional: If using raw beetroot, chop into 1/2 cm thick slices and add to your steaming attachment to steam.
- Remove the squash from the oven and place in the large salad bowl.
- If using pre-cooked beetroot (500g), chop into 1/2cm thick slices. Halve the cherry tomatoes (250g). Place both in the salad bowl. If you are transporting the salad you may wish to keep the beetroot separate until serving so that you don’t ‘dye’ your whole salad purple.
- Toast mixed seeds (125g) in a dry frying pan until lightly golden brown. You can use whichever nuts or seeds you have in your house. Tip into the salad bowl.
- Once the lentils are cooked, remove from the mixing bowl and place into the salad bowl too.
Dressing:
- Place the red chilli (1) in the mixing bowl and chop Speed 5 / 3 seconds.
- Scrape down with a spatula and chop again Speed 5 / 2 seconds.
- Add the lime juice (1), soy sauce (20g), balsamic vinegar (35g), kecap manis (15g), runny honey (25g), olive oil (20g), salt (pinch) and pepper to taste. Mix Reverse+Speed 2 / 20 seconds.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. Just before serving, sprinkle a little rocket salad (90g) over each portion. If you want to use for leftovers, leave the rocket leaves aside and sprinkle over fresh just before serving.
Notes
Cannot be frozen
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
Keywords: Free Thermomix Recipes, Lunch & Dinner Thermomix Recipes, Savoury Thermomix Snacks, Thermomix Side Dishes