London lunch box: Butternut squash, red onions, feta and pecans

For the latest in her #Londonlunchbox series, chef Laoise Casey embraces autumn with butternut squash
Laoise Casey31 October 2016

This salad combines a little restaurant technique, adapted for the home kitchen. I’m using some of my favourite vegetables ‐ butternut squash that always seem to say hello and welcome to autumn, and red onions. Here I am cooking the red onions using a method I learned when I worked at The Dairy in Clapham. We are cooking them in a very hot pan, caramelising them in butter and sugar, then deglazing with sherry vinegar. The result are beautiful shiny red onions bursting with flavour.

This method of cooking is all about enhancing the natural taste of vegetables using the right seasoning and care. I have jumbled memories of trying to cook dozens of tiny cipollini onions this way on the large black stove at The Dairy as part of the race to set up for service. I must admit cooking them at home is a little more relaxing. But if you tell yourself you’ve only got a few minutes to do it you can recreate that pre‐service adrenalin buzz. If you are so inclined, like me.

We’re roasting the butternut squash in the oven, where we finish cooking our onions along with the pecan nuts. So this is a one dish tray bake. Finish with some green leaves and chunks of feta. While this is great for a work lunch, I also love to have it as side dish at home with chicken or meat. Add some crispy pancetta for an extra touch. This salad works well at room temperature.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Half a medium butternut squash, peeled and sliced into thick chunks

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 red onions, peeled and cut into thick rings

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. demerara sugar

Knob of butter

1 tbsp. sherry vinegar

15g pecan nuts

40g feta

Large handful green leaves (try rocket, watercress, baby spinach)

Sea salt, cracked black pepper

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How to make it

Preheat oven to 180C. Put the butternut squash in a baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and season. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until just cooked through.

Meanwhile heat the vegetable oil in a medium sized saucepan over a high heat. Place the onion rings in the pan, season and cook for two minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add the sugar and butter. Cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Add the sherry vinegar. Finish cooking in the oven for 10 minutes with the butternut squash. Reserve the pan cooking juices. For the last 5 minutes put the pecan nuts into the baking tray also. Remove the tray from the oven and drizzle the pan juices onto the vegetables and nuts. Leave to cool for a few minutes.

Put the green leaves in a serving bowl with the vegetables and nuts. Scatter chunks of the feta top.

Laoise Casey is a chef de partie at Paradise Garage in Bethnal Green and the author of cuisinegenie.ie. Follow her on Twitter @laoisecooks and Instagram @laoisecooks. Laoise uses Box Appetit lunch boxes. Serving dish by Skye Corewijn Lazy Eye Ceramics.

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