This combination of garlic roasted butternut squash, blanched broccoli, avocado & kale is the kind of salad that makes you wonder why you ever bothered with salad leaves.
It is filling, tasty and brimming with the right kind of nutrients, including vitamins K, A, C, E, potassium, magnesium, folate and niacin.
The miso used for the kale is one of the only reliable vegan sources of B vitamins. It comes in paste form in a small jar and can be purchased from most supermarkets.
Miso is made from fermented soya beans and rice, giving it a tangy, salty flavour. It is a pleasant condiment that also complements soups rather well.
Ingredients for 1:
Torn leaves from a stem of kale (a large handful of kale)
Juice of a 1/3 of a lemon
1 teaspoon of miso paste (I used Clearspring Brown Rice Miso)
1/2 small butternut squash
2 small cloves of garlic
5 sprouting broccoli florets
1/2 avocado, peeled
A tablespoon of toasted seeds (optional - I used Munchy Seeds sesame sprinkles)
Sea salt and black pepper to season
Rapeseed or coconut oil for cooking
Method:
To roast the butternut squash, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Peel the halved butternut squash, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and chop the flesh into bite-sized chunks. Put them on a roasting tray, season well with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle with a small amount of rapeseed oil.
Press down on the unpeeled garlic cloves with the back of a knife until they crack slightly. Nestle them under the butternut squash pieces and put the roasting tray in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the squash is fully cooked. Remove the garlic and set the butternut squash aside to cool.
To make the blanched broccoli, bring a small pan of water to the boil. Add the broccoli, simmer gently for a minute, drain and run under a cold tap. Allow the broccoli to drain off for a minute.
To make the kale, put the torn kale leaves in a bowl, season with some black pepper, squeeze over a small amount of lemon juice and give it a massage to break down the kale. You should end up with half of the volume of kale that you originally started with. Add in a teaspoon of miso and mix well with your hands.
To assemble, put the butternut squash, kale and broccoli on a plate. Top with half an avocado and sprinkle with toasted seeds.