Broccoli salad with added fire

The broccoli around at the moment is fantastic and great when you need an injection of health in your life, having eaten way too much cake. We had two huge heads this week so I set about making a broccoli extravaganza this evening - first a big batch of chopped with 2 peas soup and secondly this healthy salad with crunchy florets, silky roast squash, nutty puy lentils and pumpkin seeds and a fiery harissa dressing. Would be great with some feta also, and you can make it as fiery or not as you like! Perhaps you could also try adding in some raisins if you like them. It was great with the addition of the romano peppers sliced thinly - you could of course use a chilli pepper for even more heat.

I love using puy lentils in salads - they're really substantial and filling but also super tasty. I like to make a version of this in the summer with cherry tomatoes that have been roasted for 5-10 mins in lots of olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano just until they're squishing, blanched french beans and sundried tomatoes.

You could serve this on its own, or for a more substantial lunch serve with bread and some yogurt to cool off and perhaps sprinkle with feta.

Serves about 2 for a substantial lunch
About 200g squash, cut into bite sized chunks
Two good handfuls of broccoli, chopped into florets
150g puy lentils
about half a romano pepper, sliced thinly
Pumpkin seeds, a good couple of tablespoons

For the dressing:
1-2 tsp harissa paste
Olive oil, a few drizzles
Lemon juice, about 3 tablespoons

First, roast your squash at about 160 degrees.Toss it in plenty of olive oil and season. About 10 minutes before the end of cooking, scatter with the pumpkin seeds and sliced pepper. I like to do this because the pumpkin seeds get all crunchy and roasty that way.

Once you've put your squash on to roast, cover your lentils with water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for as long as the instrucitons say - I cook mine for about 20-30 mins as I like them to have a bit of bite and structure to them and not to disintegrate. Drain the lentils and leave to cool. In the same pan, boil some fresh water and blanch the broccoli florets for 2 minutes only (again, I like them with a bit of crunch but feel free to cook them for longer if you prefer).

Then make the dressing - just mix up the ingredients and taste away until you've got the right balance and heat to your particular taste. Assemble the salad in a big bowl, pouring over the spicy dressing, and tuck in!