Squash, Roasted Tomato, and Popped Black Bean Salad

Recipe from Anna Jones

Servings: 4

If you don’t have, or don’t like, cardamom, you can substitute cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, coriander, or mace. Or you can try a completely different flavor profile, like with curry powder or cumin. Cardamom can have a strong flavor, so if using powdered, start with a very small amount to start (about 1/10 of a teaspoon). 

Squash:
1 butternut or other similar-size squash
Olive or coconut oil
Seeds from 1 cardamom pod or a tiny pinch of ground cardamom
300g cherry tomatoes (about one pint container)
a thumb-size piece of fresh ginger
1 can of black beans (or about 2 cups cooked if preparing from dry)
50g flaked coconut
To serve:
Half cup of good Greek or coconut yogurt
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Seeds from 1 cardamom pod

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Halve and deseed your squash and cut it into 1cm slices. Place them on a baking tray and drizzle with a little oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and the ground cardamom seeds. Place in the hot oven for 25 minutes, until blistered and golden, turning halfway through cooking.

Halve the cherry tomatoes and put them on another tray. Grate over the ginger and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a little oil and put into the oven with the squash; your tomatoes will take about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain your black beans well and dry them on kitchen paper. Heat a large pan on a medium heat, and once it’s nice and hot add the beans and dry fry, turning from time to time, until they pop and turn crisp.

When the time is nearly up for your squash, take it out of the oven, scatter the coconut over the top and put back into the oven for a couple of minutes to toast.

Mix the yoghurt with the lime zest and juice and the ground cardamom seeds. Season with a little salt and pepper and mix well. Take everything out of the oven and scatter over a big platter. Top with a drizzle of the cardamom yoghurt and a little more lime if it’s needed.