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Useful Recipes - Salads

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Spiced squash salad
Serves 4
10mins to prepare and 30mins to cook
• 600g (1¼Ib) butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into small chunks
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 15g fresh thyme
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 4tbsp Persian-style jewelled rice paste or sundried tomato paste
• 100g (3½oz)dried cranberries
• ¼tsp cinnamon
• 200g (7oz) couscous
• 75g (3oz) shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
• ½ lemon, juiced and zested

1 Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C, fan 180°C.

2 In a roasting tin, toss the butternut squash with 2 tbsp of the oil and half the thyme sprigs. Season and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Once cooked, remove the thyme sprigs and discard.

3 Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and cook the onion over a high heat, stirring for 5-8 minutes, until softened and turning golden. Add the spice (or sundried tomato) paste along with 2 tbsp of water, the dried cranberries and cinnamon. Cook for 2 minutes.

4 Prepare the couscous following the pack instructions. Strip the leaves from the remaining thyme then stir into the onion mixture with the couscous, butternut squash and pistachios. Season to taste, scatter over the lemon zest and squeeze the juice over.

Serrano ham and manchego salad
Serves 4
15 mins to prepare
• 75g frisée salad leaves
• 20 Picota cherries, pitted
• 25g flaked almonds, toasted
• 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2tbsp apple or white wine vinegar
• 200g Serrano ham
• 100g Manchego, cut into cubes
• 4 stems of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 Mix together the frisée, cherries and almonds in a bowl. Whisk together the oil and vinegar, add to the salad and toss thoroughly. Season to taste.

2 To serve: arrange the ham slices on a large plate and heap the salad in the middle. Place the cheese around the salad, then scatter over the parsley.

Beetroot, chickpea and feta salad
Serves 2
15 mins to prepare
• 100g couscous
• 250g Tesco cooked Beetroot, diced
• 400g (13oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 200g (7oz) pack feta cheese, diced
• 30g (1oz) pack fresh mint, roughly chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 2tsp olive oil
• 6cm (2½in) piece cucumber, coarsely grated

1 Place the couscous in a large bowl and cover with the boiling water (125ml/4 ½ fl oz). Leave to absorb the liquid and cool completely, then fluff up with a fork.

2 Mix together the beetroot, chickpeas, feta, mint, lime and olive oil. Chill until ready to serve.

3 Stir in the cucumber and half of the beetroot salad mixture (keep the remaining half to make beetroot hummus) into the couscous and serve.

4 Serving suggestion: Beetroot Hummus: Put the rest of the beetroot mixture in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Eat with strips of wholemeal pitta bread, radishes, cucumber and carrot sticks..

Tuna pasta salad with walnut pesto
Serves 4
10 mins to prepare and 15 mins to cook
• 400g (14oz) fusilli pasta
• 30g coriander, roughly chopped
• 3tbsp extra virgin oil
• 50g (2oz) walnut pieces, roughly chopped
• Ground black pepper
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 185g tuna, drained and flaked
• 3 tomatoes, chopped

1 Boil the pasta for 10-12 minutes until tender. Drain in a colander, run under cold water and set aside.

2 To make the pesto, put the coriander in a food processor with 2tbsp of oil and whizz to a rough paste. Add the walnuts and the rest of the oil and whizz again. Add 2tbsp of hot water and season.

3 Stir the pesto through the pasta until evenly mixed.

4 Carefully fold the red onion, tuna flakes and tomatoes into the pasta and serve immediately.

Bacon, Bean and Herb Salad
Serves 4
10 mins to prepare and 5 mins to cook
• 6 rashers unsmoked dry cured back bacon
• 220g (8oz) green beans
• 400g approx can butter beans, drained
• 50g canned lentils (drained weight)
• 4tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1tbsp of chopped dill
• 1tbsp of chopped mint
• 1tbsp of chopped chives
• 150g (5oz) mozzarella cheese, roughly torn

For the dressing
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 1tbsp lemon juice
• 4 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

1 Place bacon rashers under a hot preheated grill and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until crispy. When cooled, slightly cut rashers into 3. Lightly cook green beans in boiling water until just tender, leave to cool a little.

2 In a large bowl place the bacon pieces, green beans, drained mixed beans, lentils, fresh herbs and cheese, toss together well.

3 Place ingredients for dressing in a jar with a lid and shake well to mix together.

4 Drizzle dressing over salad and serve.