Roasted Butternut & Beetroot Salad with Prawns and Feta

This salad is warm, a welcome change as the weather starts becoming drab down here in New Zealand. Beetroot, carrot, and butternut provide a good dose of beta carotene – a powerful antioxidant – while prawns and almonds boost the protein. Slosh over that extra virgin olive oil to add fat and keep you satisfied! (Fatisfied?)

I prefer to cook my beetroot separately from the other vegetables so it doesn’t stain everything pink. Simply push over everything else to make a special space for beetroot in the baking tray. Done.

This recipe can be gluten-free, grain-free, and egg-free.

Serves 3

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

– 6 cloves garlic

– 1 red onion, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes

– 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes

– 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into 1.5 cm rounds

– 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

– 1 beetroot, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes

– 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

– salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

– 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided (plus extra to drizzle)

– 1 Tablespoon butter

– 500 grams raw, de-shelled prawns (defrosted if previously frozen)

– 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

– 1 teaspoon lemon juice

– 1 handful almonds, roughly chopped

– 2 large handfuls mesclun

– 70 grams feta, crumbled

– 1 handful stuffed green olives, sliced

– 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (or 180 degrees fanbake). Use the side of a large knife’s blade to crush the garlic cloves (smash each just once), then peel off their skins. Toss onto a baking tray along with the onion, butternut, carrot, and herbs.

2. Place the beetroot on a separate part of the tray (see above) and sprinkle with cumin seeds. Drizzle 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil over all the vegetables and pop into your oven. Cook for around 30 minutes or until tender, turning once.

3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil and butter over high heat in a frying pan on your stove. Add the prawns, chilli, and lemon, cooking until the prawns are pink. In a separate frying pan, dry toast the almonds until browning, then add them to the prawn pan.

4. Arrange the mesclun on a serving platter and pile over the roasted vegetables, followed by the prawns, feta, and olives. Drizzle over the white wine vinegar and olive oil and season with extra pepper if desired. Enjoy! 🙂