Maple pumpkin, garlic, bean and chorizo salad

Get a good quality chorizo for maximum flavour. Some are spicier than others, so pick one that caters to your taste buds. I usually use a firm, cured chorizo; if using raw soft chorizo sausage, cook it briefly first before slicing (it will be much easier to slice thinly) and frying it with the paprika.

Ingredients

800 g	Pumpkin, skin left on, cut into thin wedges
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 Tbsp	Maple syrup
1 head	Garlic, approximately 12 cloves
1 tsp	Sweet paprika
150 g	Chorizo sausages, good quality, sliced
1 can	Butter beans, 390g, drained
1 handful	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, or Italian parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp	Balsamic vinegar
1	Lemon, juice only
4 handfuls	Cos lettuce leaves, chopped, or baby cos lettuce leaves
2 Tbsp	Pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, chopped almonds or walnuts

Directions

1. Heat oven to 190C. Place pumpkin on an oven tray lined with baking paper.
2. Drizzle over maple syrup and olive oil. Toss together well and season with salt and pepper. Place unpeeled whole garlic cloves on top.
3. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until pumpkin is cooked through and slightly caramelised. Pop skin off garlic cloves, they should come off easily.
4. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry chorizo and paprika for a few minutes until chorizo is slightly crispy.
5. Toss butter beans with parsley, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, chorizo and its oil from the pan, juices from the cooked pumpkin and the roast garlic.
6. Arrange lettuce on plates, top with slices of pumpkin and bean and chorizo mixture. Scatter over pumpkin seeds or nuts and serve.