Roasted butter nut squash feta lentil salad

A good friend of mine once told me she often makes roasted pumpkin salad with feta. I have carried this food combination wishing to try it out for about 3 years and finally I tried it out, with butter nut squash instead of pumpkin. And thankfully it was just as good as I had imagined. I added lentils & celery to the mix as I had them both in the ready to use fridge and wanted to fill out the salad with some other textures. This salad is great served luke warm of the day after cold.

for 4 people:

1 butter nut squash or 1 small pumpkin
drizzle of olive oil
salt & pepper
1 square of feta (I am guessing its perhaps 250/300 gram?)
2 dl cooked put lentils (regular green lentils will also do fine)
2 celery stalks
1 tsp roasted sesame and/or (roasted) pumpkin seeds

You could also add some coriander leaves, parsley and or ruccula.

Dressing:
1 tsp dijon mustard - optional
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper
1,5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (preferably cold pressed)

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 C.
2. Half the butternut squash so that you can take out the seeds in the middle.
3. Chop the butternut squash into approximately 2x2 cm pieces.
4. Place a sheet on baking paper on your oven tray and place the chopped butternut squash in it and drizzle some olive oil over the top along with some salt & pepper. Mix so that the oil, slat & pepper coat the butternut squash cubes.
5. Place in the oven for about 20-30 min. They can come out when you can poke a fork or knife through and its soft but still slightly firm in the middle.

6. While allowing the butternut squash to cool slightly, make your dressing.
7. Unless you, as I did, have pre-cooked lentils in your fridge; rinse & cook the lentils according to the packaging. The puy lentils take about 20-25 min on a low simmer. Rise with cold water when done to keep them from over cooking and to cool them slightly.
8. Chop up the celery and place in a bowl along with the lentils & butternut squash.

9. Dress the salad & crumble the feta into the salad. If you like you can add roasted sesame and or pumpkin seeds.