Rosemary-roasted butternut, courgette, amaranth and barley couscous salad
- Published: 7 Mar 17
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Ghillie James combines squash, courgette, crumbled soft cheese and mixed grains to make a filling veggie salad.
For a hearty dinner on cold nights, try our pumpkin and sprout pasta bake.
Ingredients
- 850g butternut squash or pumpkin, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
- 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 125g barley, wholewheat or plain couscous
- 700ml chicken or vegetable stock, hot
- 50g amaranth
- 300g courgettes (about 2 medium), sliced diagonally
- 50g rocket, torn
- 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds
- 2 heaped tbsp chopped
- fresh mint leaves
- 100g feta or goat’s cheese, crumbled
For the dressing
- 1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Squeeze of lemon juice, plus a little extra if needed
- 1 tsp honey
- ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. In a bowl, combine the butternut squash/pumpkin, rosemary, sugar, 1½ tbsp of the oil, a generous sprinkling of sea salt and a good grinding of pepper. Arrange in a roasting tray in a single layer and roast for 20-25 minutes until tender but not mushy. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, put the couscous into a medium bowl and add 200ml of the hot stock. Cover and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Put the amaranth in a medium pan, pour over the remaining stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked, then tip into a sieve, rinse with a little water and leave for 5 minutes to drain thoroughly.
- Brush the courgette slices with the remaining ½ tbsp oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook in a griddle pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until charred (you may need to do this in batches), then set aside.
- Combine the grains in a bowl with the cooled butternut/pumpkin, courgettes, rocket, pine nuts/pumpkin seeds, mint and cheese (if using). In a small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients. When ready to serve, toss the salad with the dressing, then season to taste, adding extra lemon juice if needed.
- Recipe from September 2013 Issue
Nutrition
For 6
- Calories
- 311kcals
- Fat
- 14.1g (3.5g saturated)
- Protein
- 8.1g
- Carbohydrates
- 30.6g (9.4g sugars)
- Fibre
- 3.9g
- Salt
- 1.2g
delicious. tips
If using goat’s cheese instead of feta, buy a crumbly style – a soft cheese will melt into the dressing and overwhelm the other flavours.
If you can’t find amaranth, you can use cooked quinoa instead or add an extra 50g couscous.
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