One more try

The person for which I cook the most, is my boyfriend. S loves his food and according to him, it is one of the greatest pleasures in life. We tend to agree on that.






Over the years, I have come to trust his opinion about my cooking, and I always ask what he thinks about different dishes I prepare or experiment with. He is truthful in his responses and since I fancy myself as having a BS detector, I believe I would know if he was lying. Or would I?






The other day, as we were sitting together on the couch browsing the internet, the conversation came to salads. How we liked the one with radicchio we ate at a restaurant last week or how we hated the one with pears our friend 'x' made the other night, and then all of a sudden, the conversation came to the salads I have made.






He started fumbling his words when I mentioned some of the more, let's say adventurous salads I have prepared at times, and sentences like "I didn't quite enjoy that one baby" and "I didn't like that one either", started coming out of his mouth.
What???






Ok, I know S isn't the type of man who is looking forward to the salad part of a meal (is there any man who does?) but rather the main attraction, like a nice piece of rib-eye steak or my special roast chicken. Still, I make some mean salads. He oughta now that.






Truth be told, he can eat a bowlful of Horiatiki salad and I have to fight him over the last bite of an endive and apple salad every single time, but I guess I have to accept the fact that he will never enjoy raw kale or cauliflower.






Now, if you think this story has a happy ending, with an enthusiastic S loving this delicious, seasonal butternut squash salad I prepared in order to entice his appetite, you're sorely mistaken. S didn't like this one either. But I did. So who you're gonna trust, huh?














Spicy, Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Lime, Chilli and a Yoghurt and Tahini Dressing
Adapted from Plenty

The flavors in this wholesome salad are quite unique. The earthy sweetness of the butternut squash, the gentle spiciness of the cardamom, the acidity of the lime, the heat that comes from the green chilli and the cool, refreshing Greek yoghurt, are all working together to create a wonderful balance of flavors.

Enjoy it with some whole-wheat bread and a glass of Viognier.






Yield: 4-6 salad or 2 main-course servings

Ingredients
1 medium-sized butternut squash (about 1 kg)
2 Tbsp green cardamom pods
1 tsp allspice, ground
2 whole limes
3 + 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 green chilli, thinly sliced
A handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves (or coriander leaves), (about 15 g)
Sea salt

for the yoghurt dressing
140 g Greek strained yoghurt, full-fat
40 g tahini, stirred well
1 Tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-3½ Tbsp water
Sea salt

Special equipment: mortar and pestle, large baking sheet


Preparation
Place the cardamom pods in a mortar and pound them with the pestle in order to take the seeds out of the pods. Discard the pods and keep the seeds.


Grind them to a rough powder and place them in a small bowl. Add the ground allspice and 3 Tbsp of olive oil and mix well with a spoon.


Preheat your oven to 210 degrees Celsius.

Line your baking sheet with baking paper.
Rinse the butternut squash under running water and peel it with a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife. Cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and discard them. Then cut each half crosswise into 1cm-thick slices.
Arrange the squash slices on the baking sheet in a single layer and brush them over with the aforementioned spice and olive oil mixture. Sprinkle them with a little sea salt and put the baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven. Roast squash for about 15 minutes or until tender when tested with a fork. Once ready, remove sheet from the oven and allow squash to cool.

While the butternut squash is roasting, take the two limes and, using a sharp knife, first cut off the peel, then the white pith all around the fruit, exposing the flesh, then cut into quarters, cutting from top to bottom and finally cut each quarter into thin slices, about 2mm thick. Put them in a small bowl, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and a little sea salt and stir with a spoon.

for the yoghurt dressing
Put the yoghurt in a small bowl. Add the well stirred tahini, the olive oil, water, lime juice and a little sea salt and mix well with a spoon. What you're aiming for is a thick but runny enough dressing to pour over the salad. You may need to add more water if your dressing is too thick.

arrange and serve the salad
Arrange the cooled butternut squash slices on a large platter. Scatter the lime slices over the squash and drizzle with the yoghurt and tahini dressing. Scatter the chilli slices over the salad and finish it off with some parsley leaves. Serve immediately.

Put the rest of the dressing in a small bowl and place it on the table.