Warm cavolo nero and beetroot salad recipe
Cavolo nero, a cousin of kale, is ‘black cabbage’ from Tuscany. Its leaves remain glossy against the bright colours of this chunky salad.
Timings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Serves
4-5
Ingredients
For the salad
300g beetroot
400g butternut squash
4 tsp olive oil
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas
1 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp flaked almonds
400g cavolo nero, leaves separated and roughly chopped
2 banana shallots, finely sliced into rings, soaked in water for 10 minutes, then drained
For the dressing
30g fresh coriander, stalks and all, roughly chopped
20g ground almonds
1 green chilli, destalked
1 banana shallot, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lime
5 tsp olive oil
1 small green apple, cored but skin left on, roughly diced
1 tsp ground cumin
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.
2. Wrap each whole beetroot in foil, then place on a baking tray and roast for 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, peel and deseed the squash, and cut the flesh into 2-3cm chunks. Toss on a baking tray with three teaspoons of oil and some seasoning. Add to the oven for 20 minutes.
4. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and toss on a baking tray with the cumin and a teaspoon of oil. Season generously. After the squash and beetroot are done, turn the oven down to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 and bake the chickpeas for 10-12 minutes.
5. Toast the almond flakes in a dry frying pan on a low heat; remove from the heat when they turn light brown.
6. Blitz all the dressing ingredients together in a food processor with half a teaspoon of salt, using as much water as you need to make a pourable sauce – 60-70ml.
7. Blanch the cavolo nero in boiling water until slightly softened, then drain well. Return it to a sieve set over the pan to continue drying out.
8. Once the beetroot is tender, allow to cool enough to handle then remove the skin and slice into thin circles.
9. Gently mix together the squash, cavolo nero, chickpeas, shallots and beetroot, and pile on to a large serving plate.
10. Drizzle over the dressing and scatter with the toasted almond flakes.
