Wednesday 21 September 2016

Marks and Spencer Moroccan Spiced Butternut Salad with a roasted carrot dip


This was an easy choice for lunch as soon as I clocked eyes on it. Just look how attractive it is – the bright colours, the mix of textures, lots of big chunks of vegetables and lots of Middle Eastern flavours and spices for a big punch of flavours. This is exactly the type of healthy, convenient product I love – based on lots of vegetables (with this containing 2 of your five a day) and lots of interesting tastes rather than just salad leaves.




To list every ingredient and component of this would take a while because there is so much in it but it essentially breaks down into a couscous with a Moroccan style dressing, a generous helping of soft and creamy tasting carrot dip and large chunks of roasted and spiced butternut squash. That’s not to say there isn’t a whole load more going on as there’s onion, peppers, chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, quinoa, spinach and dried apricot as well.



What works so well about this is that individually each component is delicious but also they also work together so you can eat the bits separately or mix them together. It’s really hard to pick what my favourite part is – maybe the roasted butternut squash –it’s soft but firm with a lovely earthy smokiness from cumin and paprika that complements its sweetness. But then the roasted carrot dip is delicious – I would buy a pot of this just by itself as a houmous replacement, its sweet and savoury and has a really thick luscious texture.

And that’s not to say I wouldn’t eat the couscous by itself either – with garlic, chilli and more lightly spiced Moroccan flavours, it’s fragrant and packs a real flavour punch with is accentuated by the mish mash of different textures, bites and flavours studded throughout.
The portion size is exactly right and made a great healthy lunch. Suitable for vegetarians, it’s certainly more interesting than a tuna nicoise or Caesar salad!

Bought at: Marks and Spencer
Nutrition per pack:

Score: 8/10

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