Roasted squash salad with creamy homemade labneh
Labneh is a mascarpone-like strained yogurt – serve with sweet roasted pumpkin, pomegranate and leaf salad
- Prep:20 mins
Cook:40 mins
Plus 1-2 days straining - Serves 6
- Easy
Nutrition per serving
- kcal 273
- fat 16g
- saturates 8g
- carbs 23g
- sugars 17g
- fibre 4g
- protein 8g
- salt 0.6g
Ingredients
- 600g Greek yogurt
- 1 fat butternut squash
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 tbsp clear honey
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 50g mixed baby leaves (or wild rocket, pea shoots or beet leaves)
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- seeds from 1 pomegranate (or 110g tub ready-prepared pomegranate seeds), or small handful redcurrants
Tip
LabnehLabneh has a lovely richness like cheese but is much lower in fat. It’s made by straining yogurt, which gives you a thick, creamy result with a texture a bit like mascarpone. If you’re lucky enough to live near Turkish or other Eastern Mediterranean shops, you should be able to buy it there, but it is really simple to make.
Method
The day before, line a bowl with muslin. (If you don’t have any muslin, line a sieve with a new J-cloth and set it over a bowl.) Stir ½ tsp salt into the yogurt. Tip into the muslin, then bring the edges together to form a tight bundle, tie with string and hang over the bowl (or simply tip into the J-cloth lined sieve). Put in the fridge for 24-36 hrs to drain. You should be left with a firmer, soft cheese-like substance. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Trim the top and bottom of the squash. Slice into 1in-thick rounds, halving any huge ones– you’ll need at least 6 slices. Where there are seeds, scrape out with a teaspoon. Brush with 2 tbsp of the oil, season and roast for 30-40 mins on baking sheets, turning halfway, until tender. Leave at room temperature until ready to serve.
Spread a round base of labneh on 6 plates and divide the squash slices between them. Mix the remaining oil with the pomegranate molasses, honey, vinegar and seasoning, then toss with the salad leaves and onion. Divide between the plates, then scatter with pomegranate seeds or redcurrants.