May 26

May 26 Pumpkin, lentil and charred onion salad with lime yoghurt and a curry dressing

Curry dressing? Sound weird but trust me you will become addicted!

This is my new favourite dressing! I am totally surprised how much I love it. It sounds kind of odd doesn't it, a dressing flavoured with Indian curry powder? You might just have to trust me that it tastes good! As I make a lot of salads, I often experiment with different dressing and this one really stands out as completely different to anything I have made before.

It makes whatever you put it on taste like curry, the kind of simple old fashioned type of curry your Nanna might have made. Like it's totally fine to use Keen's curry powder from the supermarket. I think thats part of its appeal; it tastes super comforting. I actually have a secret love of basic curry powder. I am a bit embarrassed by it. I feel like I should be spending hours making my own special blend not buying it from the supermarket! And whilst my recipes do often call for roasting and grinding up different spice combinations, there is a place for pre-made curry powder. My dhal recipe just doesn't taste the same without it.

The curry dressing is delicious and goes particularly well with grain salads, roasted root vegetables or roasted cauliflower. As its a strong flavour it's best served with something hearty and robust. So far my favourite version I have made with the curry dressing is this salad. The roasted sweet pumpkin and rich almost bitter charred onion goes perfectly with the dressing. But it is the addition of lime and garlic yoghurt that makes this salad all come together! It taste like you are eating a delicious curry but in the form of a fresh salad.

Ideally you would make the salad dressing at least a couple of hours ahead to give time for the flavours to develop. But if you can't thats fine too!

But there are endless ways to use the dressing and I encourage you to experiment! It also works great as a dip for some hot naan or roti bread. Spread some garlic yoghurt on a small platter, drizzle over the curry dressing, top with fresh coriander and mint, some nigella seeds and fresh chilli and dig in! It also looks impressive this way but is super easy.

I have also been experimenting making a grilled flatbread version of this salad. Obviously I am a bit obsessed with the yoghurt and curry dressing combo and trying to find more ways to eat it! And this was a winner. I made some freshly baked yoghurt flatbread and filled it with all the salad ingredients and viola! Also a great idea if you have any left over salad.

Pumpkin, lentil and charred onion salad with lime yoghurt and a curry dressing

Prep time: 45 minutes plus extra time for the pumpkin to cook

Makes: Served for a starter or 6 as a side salad

Dietary Guide: The recipe is gluten free. To maker it vegan or FODMAP friendly see the end of the recipe.

Ingredients

800g of Japanese pumpkin (about 1/3 of a small pumpkin)

3 tablespoon of olive oil

2 red onions

1 can of lentil's rinsed and well drained

2 long green chilli de-seeded and sliced thinly

1 cup of washed and dried coriander leaves

¼ cups of small mint leaves

1 tablespoon of toasted nigella seeds

A golden shallot sliced into very thin rounds for garnish (optional)

For the curry dressing

1 teaspoon of curry powder

2 ½ tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of mild smooth mustard (I use American style)

2 teaspoons of maple syrup

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

For the lime and garlic yoghurt

1 ½ teaspoons of salt flakers (or 1 teaspoon of fine salt)

2 large clove of garlic peeled

1 tablespoon of olive oil

400g of Greek yoghurt

Finely grated zest of ¾ a lime

Pepper and salt to taste

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Peel the pumpkin and chop into 2cm squares. Toss in approximately 1 ½ tablespoon of the olive oil, season well and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven for about 1and 20 minutes hour or until soft and just taking on some colour. Set aside to cool.
Heat a large fry pan on a medium heat with half the remain olive oil. (¾ of a tablespoon) Peel the onions and slice short-ways into rings about ½ a cm thick. Fry half the onions in the frypan, turning once the underside has gone dark golden brown. When both side are done, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Repeat with the remaining oil and onion.
To make the lime and garlic yoghurt, grind the cloves of garlic with 1 teaspoon of salt flakes in a morter and pestle until a rough paste has formed. Add the tablespoon of olive oil and mix well. Reserve ½ a teaspoon of the creamed garlic mix for the curry dressing. In a small bowl, mix the yoghurt, lime rind and remaining garlic. Season well with pepper and taste - adjust for salt if needed.
To make the curry dressing, dry roast the curry powder in a small frypan over medium heat for a few minutes stirring frequently. I find a rubber spatula best for this as it ensure no curry powder is gettign stuck to the bottom of the frypan and burning. When the curry power has started to go darker in colour (but not too dark or it will got bitter) add the 2 ½ tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for another few minutes and then cool. Once cool, add to a jar along with the rest of the dressing ingredients and a pinch of salt, shake very well (ensure it is completely smooth and it should thicken up) and taste. Adjust if needed. Place in the fridge until needed.
To assemble the salad, spread the yoghurt over the bottom of four salad plates or one larger platter. Scatter over the pumpkin, lentils, charred opinions, sliced shallot if using and fresh herbs. Pour over approximately 1 tablespoon of the curry dressing over each salad and finish with the nigella seeds and green chilli. Enjoy.

FODMAP friendly adaptation: Omit the red onions and use ½ cup of chopped green spring onion for garnish instead of a golden shallot. Replace the garlic in both the yoghurt and curry dressing with ½ a teaspoon of garlic oil (less if you don't want it too garlicky). Make sure you use Japanese pumpkin and not butternut and use canned lentil not cooked lentils.

Vegan adaptation: You can either use a vegan yoghurt or make this cashew and lime “yoghurt”.

Ingredients

½ cup of raw cashews soaked overnight or in hot water for half an hour

½ teaspoon of creamed garlic (see the method in the above garlic and lime yoghurt for the method to cream garlic)

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup of water

1 long green chilli de-seeded – less if you don't like chilli

4 coriander roots washed

1 teaspoon of lime juice

Zest of half a lime

Pinch of salt

Lot's of black pepper