Jewelled Butternut Squash, Barley and Watercress Salad
We’ve quickly learnt that cooking every meal in lockdown isn’t going to be feasible. Does anyone else feel like they spend at least 2 hours a day washing up?! Since popping to Pret for a quick lunch is no longer an option, we’re having to think further in advance about what we’re eating. Enter the tray bake. It’s quick and easy plus incurs very little washing up – the perfect midweek meal that you can enjoy for lunch in the following days too.
This tray bake recipe was developed for us by the amazing Elisa aka @happyskinkitchen who uses our Extra Virgin Hemp Seed Oil and Hemp Seed Hearts to make the salad dressing of dreams!
“This barley & squash salad is utterly delicious, filling and flavoursome but also super simple. I love fuss free one pot/tray meal and this recipe is just that. I absolutely love the hemp watercress dressing for that green goodness and to add a fresh and peppery flavour to the dish. It’s one of those salads that is still really delicious the next day so it’s great as part of a meal prep too!”
Serves 3-4 people
Cooking time: 50 minutes
- 1 butternut squash (around 750g), cut into small pieces and deseeded
- 300g pearl barley
- 3 shallot, finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 700ml veggie stock
- The seeds of 1 pomegranate
- 2 tbsp oil of choice (hemp seed, olive etc)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 bag of watercress (85g), roughly chopped
- The juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Hemp Seed Oil
- A generous pinch of salt
- A generous sprinkle of Hemp Seeds Hearts
Method
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
Add the chopped butternut squash, shallot and garlic to a large tray. Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil. Add in the barley and cover with the veggie stock. Mix everything together.
Cover with some foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes until all the water has evaporated and the barley is soft.
In the mean-time make the dressing: using a hand blender or a normal blender blitz together the watercress (reserve some to sprinkle on top of the salad), garlic, Good Hemp Extra Virgin Hemp Seed Oil, salt and lemon juice.
Remove the barley from the oven and let it cool down for few minutes. Sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds, the remaining watercress and drizzle the watercress dressing. Serve with a generous sprinkle of Good Hemp Seeds Hearts.