Za'atar squash and chickpea salad

I was given a giant jar of za'atar by Sister in law Spread at Christmas and I have been experimenting with it ever since. Za'atar is a blend of herbs and spices from the Middle East. It includes thyme, marjoram, sesame seeds and sumac. It can be added to soups and casseroles whilst baking, but can also be used as a garnish, for example on poached eggs. I used it today to roast my squash in, for a tasty, simple and mainly under 300 calorie dinner for a '2' day of my 5:2 diet.


What you will need
500g peeled and cubed butternut squash
2 cloves garlic
2 onions
1 tin of chickpeas
Lettuce
4 tea spoons za'atar
1/2 lemon
2 tea spoons pomegranite molasses


Firstly, peel and slice the onions into sixths. Add the onions to a roasting pan with the squash. Drizzle over a very small amount of olive oil, add the crushed garlic cloves and sprinkle over 2 tea spoons of za'atar and some salt. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes at 220 degrees until cooked and caramalised.


To make the dressing, mix together the juice of half the lemon juice with the pomegranite molasses.


Next, drain the tin of chickpeas and add to the cooked squash with the rest of the za'tar and toss together.

Serve on top of some fresh crisp lettuce leaves, dressed with the lemon juice and pomegranite molasses.