Hasselback Butternut Squash Salad

Creating thin slivers into a butternut squash not only makes it cook quicker but gives more surface area to soak up your dressing of choice – mine being a good quality garlic infused olive oil. It’s a real show stopper for a luncheon with friends and tastes just as good as it looks. You’ll also find my top tip for not cutting right through the butternut squash below. I really hope you find this useful.

Ingredients:-

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 bag of mixed salad leaves (about 90g)
• 100g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 50g feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons of garlic infused olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:-

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220.c.
2. Peel, half lengthways and deseed the butternut squash.
3. Place on a chopping board with chopsticks either side, and using a large knife cut your hasselback slices – the chop sticks will make sure you don’t cut right through the butternut squash which is pure brilliance!
4. Place on a baking tray and drizzle each half with a tablespoon of olive oil and rub in. Season with salt and pepper before popping in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes – after which time the butternut squash should be tender and starting to crisp around the edges.
5. Scatter the salad leaves on a large serving plate and top with the butternut squash (you’ll need a couple of spatulas to pick these up from the baking tray) and then scatter over the halved cherry tomatoes and crumble over the feta.
6. Drizzle over your garlic oil as a dressing and season with more salt and pepper before diving right in.

This recipe serves 4 comfortably for a light lunch. Enjoy.