Butternut Squash, Bacon and Goat's Cheese Salad

A slightly decadent but delicious dish, this Butternut Squash, Bacon and Goat's Cheese Salad is a firm favourite in our household!

Ingredients

1/4 butternut squash (approximately 200g), outer skin removed and cut into small cubes
50g cherry tomatoes
Handful of salad leaves
Handful of fresh rocket
20g kalamata olives, drained and chopped
1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
3 rashers of veggie-bacon, chopped
30g goats cheese, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Pinch of dried oregano
Pinch of dried rosemary
Couple of sprigs of fresh thyme
A few heads of fresh basil
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Additional: rosemary flatbread-style crisps

Preheat the oven to 220°C / Fan 200°C /Gas Mark 7.
Place the butternut squash cubes onto a baking tray with the fresh thyme, 2 tbsp olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes until cooked and slightly brown (I like mine almost blackened and crispy!)
In a small baking dish, add the crushed garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, dried oregano, dried rosemary and cherry tomatoes and mix together until the tomatoes are coated. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and are beginning to burst.
In a frying pan, lightly fry the rashers of bacon with a tiny touch of oil until hot and crispy.
Mix together the salad leaves, rocket, olives, pomegranate seeds remaining olive oil. Add the cooked butternut squash and crumble over the goats cheese. Gently add the burs cherry tomatoes and serve immediately.
As an additional extra, I love to serve this salad with a couple of rosemary flatbread-style crisps to give an additional crunch, but you can miss this part out if you prefer!