This season our butternut squash did very well, which left me thinking of different ways to eat it. A friend of a friend put me onto this delicious salad made with raw grated butternut squash; I had never heard of eating squash raw before and was delighted to discover it tastes great: a bit like melon when combined with persimmon, olive oil, dijon mustard and apple cider.

Pomegranates are packed full of fibre, potassium, and vitamins K and C, they’re also on the top 10 list of aphrodisiac foods, and the juice has been shown to have three times more antioxidant activity than green tea and red wine. Butternut squash is also high in dietary fibre and potassium, has plenty of vitamin B6, and a one cup serving will give you nearly half the recommended daily dose of vitamin C. Eating them together in this salad will give your immune and nervous system a boost.

 

 

Raw Squash &  Pomegranate Salad

Half a large butternut squash, peeled and grated

1 Cup shredded cabbage

1 Large pomegranate

2 Tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

2 Stalks of spring onion, sliced, green parts only

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons Green Goddess apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup tamari toasted seeds

Himalayan salt and pepper to taste

Here’s how to make it

Get your pomegranate and roll it on the bench to loosen the seeds, then cut in half and squeeze the juice over a strainer into a bowl. Set the seeds aside.

In the same bowl add the apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil and brown sugar, whisk until smooth. Taste and season with a pinch of salt and pepper if necessary.

In another bowl combine half the pomegranate seeds, grated squash, shredded cabbage, spring onion and parsley, pour over the dressing and gently toss. Place onto a serving/salad dish, top with the rest of the pomegranate seeds and tamari toasted seeds.

This goes very well with twice baked potatoes and a green salad. I used the left overs in a salad wrap for lunch the next day. Yum!

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