Warm Butternut, Chicken & Feta Salad

📝 Ingredients

• 400 g butternut squash flesh (about ½ squash)
• 250 g chicken breast
• 100 g baby spinach
• 80 g feta
• 20 g pumpkin seeds
• 3 tbsp olive oil (1 for the squash, 1 for the chicken, 1 for the dressing)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp honey + 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (for the dressing)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large non-stick frying pan with lid
• Peeler
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Mixing bowl
• Small bowl

📖 Steps

1. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler, scoop out the seeds and stringy bits with a spoon, then cut 400 g of flesh into 2 cm cubes. Bigger cubes would stay hard in the middle while the outside starts to burn.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the squash cubes in a single layer, season with salt and sprinkle with cumin. Leave to brown for 3 minutes without touching, then turn them.
3. Lower to a medium heat, cover and cook for a further 10 to 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until the cubes are golden and tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Set aside on a plate.
4. While the squash is cooking, cut the chicken into 1 cm thick strips. Put the empty pan back over a high heat with 1 tbsp oil, add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and sear for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring, until golden and no longer pink in the middle.
5. Remove the chicken, then toast the pumpkin seeds for 2 minutes in the still-hot dry pan, stirring constantly: they'll puff up and pop. Tip them straight onto a plate, as they burn very quickly.
6. Make the dressing in the small bowl: whisk the honey, balsamic vinegar, the last spoonful of olive oil, a pinch of salt and some pepper with a fork until smooth and slightly thick.
7. Rinse the baby spinach, gently dry it in a clean tea towel and put it in the salad bowl with half the dressing. Add the still-warm squash and chicken: their heat slightly softens the leaves.
8. Divide between two plates, crumble the feta over with your fingers, scatter with the toasted pumpkin seeds and drizzle with the rest of the dressing. Serve straight away, while the squash and chicken are still warm.