This isn’t so much a recipe but a concept: combining sweet and savoury flavours to make an awesome, satisfying salad. This salad also throws in some sour flavours too.
I had some cranberries in the freezer from last winter’s cranberry chutney. I also had a butternut squash I needed to use. It occurred to me that the two would be nice together, so I created this salad. I was right about the butternut / cranberry combo – it works, but does need a bit of added sweetness, which I achieved by adding some chopped dates to the mix. I love the texture of the bulgur wheat bits next to the soft butternut squash. This salad is good warm or cold, and makes a great packed lunch (or breakfast!). I highly recommend adding some toasted pistachios, almonds or sunflower seeds as a garnish.
A rough recipe is giving below – please forgive the estimates on ingredient quantities – part of this salad concept is its randomness – there are no strict rules to making this tasty.
| Butternut, Cranberry and Bulgur Salad |
- 1/2 butternut squash
- a handful of cranberries
- crushed fennel and coriander seeds
- a sprinkle of crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper
- a good pinch of brown sugar
- olive oil
- a few big spoonfuls of cooked bulgar wheat
- a couple sliced spring onions
- chopped fresh coriander
- a squeeze of lemon juice
- chopped dates or other dried fruit
- pistachios, almonds or sunflower seeds
- Toss the butternut squash, cranberries, fennel and coriander seeds, crushed pepper, salt, pepper, brown sugar and olive oil in a roasting tin. Roast until the butternut squash is tender and starting to brown on the edges.
- Put the contents of the roasting tin into a mixing bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasoning to suit your tastes.
Wow – that zings on the plate!
Just popped in to grab your link so I can post it on today’s Salad Days round up 🙂
A fabulous recipe Monica and perfect for National Vegetarian Week. Thanks for submitting it for my roundup. I am just writing it now. Lots of lovely recipes.
What a lovely salad! I am a big fan of butternut squash, and always on the lookout for interesting recipes to use it and yours is quite appealing.