This is the ultimate autumnal salad - a warm, rich tumble of sliced roast chicken, crispy kale, toasted quinoa and wedges of sweet, buttery squash.
The apple and pepitas add crunch (you could also throw in a handful of toasted pecans) and the dressing makes good use of all the delicious chicken cooking juices with lots of sharp lemon juice to cut through.
This wholesome, UpWest salad is perfect for a delicious weekend of treat your body right. Enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Ingredients:
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2 red onions, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges
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4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
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1 lemon
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1 medium whole chicken (about 1.5kg / 3¼ lb)
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150g / 5oz uncooked quinoa (or about 500g / 1lb cooked quinoa)
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500g / 1lb sliced pumpkin or winter squash (such as butternut, red kabocha or acorn)
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150g / 5oz cavolo nero or Tuscan kale
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2 heads of red Belgian endive, trimmed and sliced
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1 apple, cored and finely sliced
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60g / 2oz toasted pumpkin seeds or pepitas
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Flaky sea salt and black pepper
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180ËšC fan / 350ËšF fan / gas mark 6 (depending on your oven).
Roast the Chicken
Arrange the onions in a medium roasting tin (large enough to comfortably fit the chicken, but not so large that all the juices will evaporate from the base). Sprinkle with 1 tbsp oil and season with sea salt. Halve the lemon and place cut-side down in the dish. Place the chicken, breast-side down on top of the onions and season the skin with sea salt. Roast for 20 minutes.
Take the roasting tin out of the oven, lift up the chicken allowing the juices to run into the roasting tin. Stir up with the onions and spread over the base, then sit the chicken back in the tin breast-side up. Drizzle with another tbsp oil, season the skin with sea salt and black pepper and roast for another 45 minutes.
Prepare the quinoa, pumpkin and kale
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the quinoa, pumpkin or squash and kale:
If using uncooked quinoa, rinse it well, then tip into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 12 minutes. Check that it is completely tender, then drain and spread onto a plate to cool.
Arrange the pumpkin or squash over a large oven tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp oil and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Strip the kale from its stalks (save the stalks for juices, soups and smoothies) and tear the leaves into 5cm / 2 inch pieces. Toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of sea salt, scrunching the leaves slightly.
Remove the chicken from the oven and cook the pumpkin
As soon as the chicken is ready, remove the roasting tin from the oven and set aside for 20 minutes to rest.
While the chicken is resting, place the tray of squash in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes gently push the pumpkin or squash to one side and add the quinoa to the tray, stirring in the residual oil and seasoning lightly. Roast for another 10 minutes. Finally arrange the kale on top of the pumpkin or squash and quinoa and roast for another 7-8 minutes until wilted and crisp in places.
Prepare the dressing
After 20 minutes, lift out the rested chicken from the roasting tray and allow all the juices to pour back into the tin (you should have a good amount of juices, but add a little boiling water if it looks a little dry). Carve the chicken and add these juices to the tin too. Squeeze the cut lemons into the juices and scoop any remaining, soft flesh from the lemon shells adding this to the juices too (discard the empty shells). These roasting juices are the dressing, so tip into a bowl and season with more salt and pepper if needed, or add a splash more fresh lemon juice or a squeeze of honey to sweeten.
Arrange the quinoa, kale, pumpkin or squash, carved chicken, endive, red onions and sliced apple over a large serving dish. Spoon over the dressing, sprinkle with the pepitas and serve.