Sausage and squash or pumpkin salad

Here’s an easy dish that plays on the heavenly combination of pumpkin/squash and sausage. It’s so good I think Tom Archer should include it in his ready meals range. Leftovers make a great lunch, though someone has normally picked out all the sausages, leaving me with a pumpkin, feta and chickpea salad. It’s still a good lunch though. 

Sausage and squash salad

Sausage and squash salad ingredients

• 6 top quality butcher’s sausages
• Half a medium butternut or other firm squash, or pumpkin
• 75g feta cheese (about 3 slices from a 200g pack)
• A small bunch salad leaves
• A teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• Olive oil
• Soaked and cooked chickpeas 
• Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Soaking dried chickpeas

If this seems like a hassle, it really isn’t. I normally make 3 or 4 times the quantity of chickpeas I need then freeze them in individual portions in freezer bags. This seems to work well and they defrost in a matter of minutes. You can of course use drained tinned chickpeas if you prefer, but a bag of dried chickpeas costs about the same as a tin and takes up a lot less space in your cupboard.

How to make sausage and squash salad

Chickpeas

1. Using a sieve or colander rinse the dried chickpeas with plenty of cold water.
2. Tip into a large bowl, cover with cold water and add a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.
3. Leave to soak overnight.
4. The next day, drain the chickpeas and rinse again in cold water.
5. Empty into a large pan, cover with cold water, and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
6. Simmer till tender – about 45 minutes, depending on the age of your chickpeas.
7. Do not add salt while cooking as this will make the chickpeas tough.

The Magic Number 

Everyone knows that three is the magic number, except in cooking, when its 190⁰C (fan assisted).

8. Heat your oven to the Magic Cooking Number.

Sausages

9. Twist the sausages gently in the middle then cut in half to make 2 short, stumpy sausages out of each one. This makes them easier to eat plus quicker to cook through.

Or just use cocktail sausages which will cook even quicker.

Squash

11. Chop half a medium butternut squash into chunks and place in as large roasting tin with the sausages.
12. Sprinkle over the dried chilli flakes and drizzle with olive or rapeseed oil.Alternatively, drizzle with chilli oil instead of olive oil.

Roast and serve

14. Roast in the oven till cooked through – about 40 minutes.
15. Add some cooked chickpeas for the last 10 minutes of cooking to warm them through.
16. Remove from the oven and toss with any peppery salad leaves such as rocket or watercress and add some crumbled feta.
17. Scatter with toasted pumpkin seeds.

A variation

You could make this more of a lunchimte salad but substituting the sausages with some grilled bacon. A handful of walnuts and a sprinkling of sesame seeds adds crunch and texture.

My version of bread salad (panzanella)

A couple of weeks ago we had the most glorious, searingly hot Sunday. With nothing in particular to do, I spent the day pottering between the garden and the kitchen, making salads and reading recipe books.

This salad is based on the classic panzanella (bread salad) combination. It is perfect for a hot summer’s day, especially with a chilled glass of rosé. 

Bread salad ingredients

• 2 large, ripe tomatoes
• Half a yellow or orange pepper
• Half a cucumber
• About 8 pitted black olives
• Small bunch fresh mint
• 50g feta, ie 2 slices from a 200g pack (Waitrose feta is delicious)
• ¼ to ½ small red onion
• Small ciabatta loaf

Bread salad dressing ingredients

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Small clove garlic, crushed

Optional

• A few sprigs basil
• A few sprigs parsley

How to make bread salad

1. Heat the grill to a medium setting
2. Cut the ciabatta in half lengthways and rub with some olive oil
3. Grill for a few minutes till lightly toasted
4. Chop the tomatoes, pepper and cucumber into bite-sized chunks
5. Half the olives
6. Chop then onion very finely
7. Chop the mint and parsley, tear the basil (chopping will bruise it)
8. Add everything to a large bowl
9. Chop half the feta into small cubes and add to the bowl
10. Crumble the remaining feta and add that to the salad too

How to make the dressing

11. Put the dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake to combine.
12. Pour over the salad and mix everything thoroughly.

Finally...

13. Break the toasted ciabatta into largeish chunks and add to the salad just before serving.

The dressing will make the bread go soggy so this salad needs to be eaten straight away.

Bread salad for lunch

If you’re making this salad for lunch, you will need to keep the toasted bread in a separate bag and add to the rest of the salad just before eating.

The bread can make this salad quite heavy so leave it out if you prefer.

If you still want your salad to be substantial, add a handful of cooked chickpea instead of the bread.