Summer is the time to indulge in fresh salads! And a salad can be so much more than simply chopped up fresh veggies! They are delicious too, no doubt, but sometimes an interesting dressing or additional ingredient can make a salad so much more fun and delicious. This is the case with this salad. The base of it is raw spinach and the rest of the ingredients blend together pretty well, giving a nice flavour and texture that will provide for a satisfying meal.

I love experimenting with salad dressings, because they are what makes a salad special in the end. I wasn’t quite sure if hemp seeds will go well with this one, but was pleasantly surprised by the end result :). Some roasted nuts is another thing I like to add to my salads, as they give more texture and make the salad more filling too. It won’t take you long to prepare this salad, most of the time for the preparation is actually inactive, so you don’t necessarily have to spend an hour in the kitchen. You can enjoy this salad on its own or as a side dish. It is high in nutrients, such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, and B vitamins from the butternut squash. The almonds provide additional fiber and vitamin E, while hemp seeds are a good source of good omega fats and protein. Quite well rounded from a nutritional point of view ;).

Here is what you will need to prepare this salad.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

• 200 gr baby spinach
• 1/2 butternut squash
  For the crispy almonds:
• 70 gr raw almonds
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
  For the hemp seed dressing:
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 6 tbsp hulled hemp seeds
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
• 6 tbsp water
• salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
2. Cut the butternut squash into cubes. Place them on a baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and salt and bake for about 30 minutes. Once the squash is baked let it cool down.
3. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 5 minutes, until they become lightly roasted. Set aside.
4. Wash the spinach and place it in a salad bowl. Add the butternut squash to the bowl.
5. Place the roasted and cooled almonds in a food processor and blend, making sure you don’t over-process the almonds, so they keep a nice texture. Slowly add the nutritional yeast, olive oil, salt and pepper and blend on a low speed. Add the mixture to the salad bowl.
6. Rinse the food processor and add the ingredients for the hemp dressing. Blend well until you get a nice creamy texture.  Add the dressing to the rest of the salad and mix well until the spinach leaves and butternut are well coated with the dressing and almond crisps.
7. Enjoy! 🙂