Candied Walnuts & Autumn Salad

Autumn is here with out a doubt and to be honest I am relishing in it. I love this time of year! ok, maybe not the rain, but I like the fresh chill in the air, I like coming in and putting the heating on in the evening and I love the warm, comforting food that comes with this time of year.

While out shopping today I came across some Kale for 99c a bag in Lidl. I've never had kale before, Its one of Autumns many seasonal veggies, so now is a great time to enjoy it at its best. I decided to give it a go and I made a really tasty salad with it using some Candied Walnuts I made earlier today.

Candied Walnuts

3 Pro Points for 10g

70g Walnuts
50g Sweet Freedom Syrup
25g Brown Sugar
4 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 150

Mix the syrup, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring frequently.
Pour the syrup mixture into a bowl and stir in the Walnuts, Mix well
Leave the Walnuts to soak for 3 minutes

Place a sheet of baking parchment under a wire cooling rack and spread the Walnuts over the rack
Leave the excess syrup to drip off for a couple of minutes
Place the Walnuts on a lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 5 minutes, toss half way.
keep a firm eye on them as they burn quickly.
Leave to cool on the tray and transfer to a jar or air tight container.

Autumn salad

Serves 4

8 Pro Points Per Serving

To bulk up the salad for a main meal add a grilled chicken breast for an extra 4 pro Points per serving

A bunch of kale (I used half a bag from Lidl)
Half a Butternut Squash, cubed
1 cup Cous Cous
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
70g Goats Cheese
30g candied Walnuts
Fry Lite

Bring one cup of water to the boil, stir in vegetable stock cube and add one cup of Cous Cous, Cover and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Spray a large frying pan/wok with Fry Lite and turn on a medium heat
Saute the Butternut Squash for 10 minutes, until tender
Remove from the pan and let cool,
Spray the pan again with fry light and add the Kale, Wilt the kale for a couple of minutes until it turns a dark green colour but is still crunchy.
Remove from the pan, let cool and chop roughly.

In a large bowl, mix the Cous Cous, Kale and Squash together.
Crumble over the Goats Cheese and Toss.
Sprinkle the Walnuts on top and serve.

The slight bitterness of the crunchy Kale meets the soft sweetness of the Butternut Squash. The creaminess of the Goats cheese contrasted with the sweet crunch of the Candied Walnuts, This salad is bursting with flavour and texture, definitely a must try this season!