Tracey’s Favourite Salad

This started out as a lovely salad in a cafe on a child free date a couple of years ago.

“This tastes great,” said Tracey.

I had a look at her meal and a small taste. “I could make that,” I said.

And I have been ever since.

We vary this a lot: sometimes adding pine nuts or changing the dressing: sometimes using chicken or prosciutto.

The only real constants are the pumpkin and the feta and the smile on my wife’s face.

This recipe makes enough for two people, just double for four, triple for six, etc.

It’s tasty and it’s got a zing: what else could you want?

You will need:

200g pumpkin (butternut is noice), peeled and cubed

1 beef steak (we used porterhouse)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

baby spinach and/or rocket and/or any other lettuce mix you like – a good handful per plate

1 bunch coriander leaves, chopped

200g feta

Step One: Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Step Two: Roast pumpkin for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Step Three: Meanwhile, cook steak, turning once only, until done just the way you like it. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes, then slice.

Step Four: Mix olive oil, sweet chilli sauce and lemon juice together. I put them into a small plastic container with a lid and shake the hell out of it.

Step Five: Either in a salad bowl or directly into individual bowls, arrange lettuce leaves, coriander, beef slices and crumbled feta, then add the warm pumpkin and drizzle the dressing over the top.

Step Six: Wish you’d made more.

When not typing away over here and checking his stats every two minutes Bruce Devereaux hangs out at his ‘BIG FAMILY little income’  Facebook Page.

 ’raising a family on little more than laughs’