Two of my favourite Autumn salads
- Sarah Bainbridge
- Sep 29, 2016
- 3 min read
I love September! It's the month of new beginnings, as the leaves fall off the trees nature is getting ready to rest and restore, banking its energy for new growth next spring. After a summer of little routine, lots of fun and a few too many spritz this is what I like to do too, restore and revive.
Autumn is the season I love most in the kitchen, apples, pears, blackberries, squash, pumpkins, figs, mushrooms & aubergines in abundance, gorgeous ingredients bursting with colour and flavour available as my food therapy. I'm passionate about eating well, making food with love and sharing it with my favourite people. These are 2 of my favourite salads to eat in September and October, so simple that they can all be thrown together as lunch for one or scaled up and served as a delicious side dish or a simple starter. Hope you enjoy!
Butternut Squash, Beetroot & Goats Cheese Salad (pictured above).
Ingredients (enough for 4 as a starter)
1 butternut squash
1 medium beetroot
1 red onion
Rapeseed oil
Balsamic vinegar
Goats cheese (rind on)
Handful of peas
Baby gem lettuce
Small bay of rocket
Small handful of walnuts
Salt & pepper
Top & tail a medium beetroot and scrub clean of dirt, leave the skin on cover in a little rapeseed oil and pop it into an oven to roast at 180 for 50 mins. Peel, deseed and cut a butternut squash into 1-2cm wide strips. Cover with a little rapeseed oil and roast on the shelf above the beetroot until slightly caramelised (30mins or so).
Next peel and slice the red onion, spread on a baking tray, cover with a couple of tbs of rapeseed oil and 3 tbs of balsamic vinegar & season. Bake for 10-12 mins remove from the oven and toss with another couple of tbs of balsamic vinegar.
Next pop a handful of peas into salted boiling water for 5 mins and drain and set aside. The beetroot should now be ready to remove from the oven and set aside to cool (whilst the beetroot is cooling wash and break up the baby gem & rocket and pop into a large bowl). Once the beetroot has cooled enough to handle peel the skin and cut into 1cm slices and then cut these into 1cm strips.
Add the peas and walnuts to the lettuce & rocket and then break in the sliced goats cheese and the balsamic onions. Toss gently, plate up and top with the roasted butternut squash and beetroot strips & serve.
Pattypan, Pine nut & Blue cheese salad
Ingredients (enough for 2 for lunch)
3 pattypan
2 eggs
Rapeseed oil
Creamy blue cheese (My fav is saint Agur)
Handful of pine nuts
Walnut oil
Mixed salad leaves
Seasoning
This salad is so simple to make...
Spread the pine nuts onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 180 until just turning golden (6-7 mins). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Slice the pattypan and cut out the seeded centres and any core. Dip into the beaten egg and then fry in a couple of tbs of rapeseed oil over a medium heat for 3-4 mins on each side and set aside.
Pop the salad leaves into a bowl and drizzle with a little walnut oil, add the pine nuts & pattypan and toss together with seasoning. Plate up and top with as much creamy blue cheese as you desire!
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