Roast beetroot and butternut salad with puy lentils and…
This salad is the perfect combination of sweet and savory, a lovely light Saturday lunch or side dish to something more substantial. We love lentils in a warm salad, their neutral earthiness goes well with fresh salady stuff and makes a lovely base flavour to build on.
The rose water adds an exciting middle eastern dimension, which pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the beetroot.
This is great as is for a light lunch, but feel free to beef it up with a poached egg or some chicken strips to make a more complete meal.
Roast beetroot and butternut salad with lentils and rose water
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium butternut, cut into 1 cm half slices
- 3 medium beetroots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 cm slices
- 1 large onion, sliced into wedges
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 head baby gem lettuce, shredded You can substitute with baby spinach or any leaves or herbs of choice
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced thinly with a mandelin
- 1 cup cooked or canned brown lentils
- 2 Tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
Dressing
- 1 1/2 tsp rose water Rose water can be powerful, be careful! If yours is very strong, use slightly less.
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 Tbsp soya sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 240 C
- Toss the butternut with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and precook (covered) in the microwave for 4 minutes. Toss the onion to spread the flavour and spread out on a baking tray.
- Add the beetroot to the tray. Bake the veggies for approximately 30 minutes, or until roasted to your liking.
- While the veggies are baking, throw the lettuce and zucchini in a salad bowl with the cooked lentils and toss. When the veggies are done, add the butternut and onion.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and then add the cooked beetroot to the dressing. Coat the beetroot well, then remove the beetroot from the dressing and add to the salad. Reserve the dressing. Don't toss the salad once the beetroot has been added.
- Top with the toasted seeds. Serve the salad with the rose water dressing on the side or spoon over immediately before serving.
