Anyone into pumpkins? I’m not usually fussy about the vegetables I have, but when it comes to those that I dislike, I can only eat them cooked in a certain manner.
While I was having a spontaneous calling to cook for my family a Western meal dinner one day, I was adamant on doing something with pumpkins. It is a nutritious vegetable rich in Vitamin A, C and potassium, and it would be such a pity if I missed out on these!
Eating pumpkins alone or as a soup ain’t that exciting, so I decided to bring it up a notch by roasting them with honey and adding them into a healthy salad! They look oh so sexy with that shiny glaze of honey.
I had a box of mixed spinach greens on hand, but you can feel free to use other greens like kale or rocket. Salads are incredibly fun and flexible to work with, as you can toss almost anything you like into them! I topped mine with beetroot and homemade Dukkah.
The former is always a must in my salads, as it contains a bit of citrus contrast with with the sweet ingredients. I believe adding crumbled feta cheese would make this salad more delicious for those who are fine with dairy!
The homemade Honey Dijon Mustard sauce tied the whole salad together and it was a crowd-pleaser! Got lucky when I found a jar of traditional Dijon Mustard from England lying in the fridge, which had been used just once.
HONEY-ROASTED PUMPKIN SALAD
Feeds: 5-6 as a side dish,
or 1-2 hungry piggies
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Photo-taking time: 5 minutes
INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD
- 600g butternut pumpkin, deseeded, peeled, cut into wedges
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, or other vegetable oil of high smoke point
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 x 150g pkt baby spinach leaves (or other greens of your choice)
- 75g toasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds etc.)
INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
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Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place the pumpkin in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Gently toss until the pumpkin is well-coated.
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Place the pumpkins in a single layer on the lined tray and bake it for 25 minutes and to, turning once during cooking, for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with the sesame seeds. Return to oven and bake for 5 minutes or until the seeds are lightly toasted. Remove from oven and set aside for 30 minutes to cool.
- Combine the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, mustard and extra honey in a screw-top jar and shake until well-combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the pumpkin, spinach and nuts in a large bowl and gently toss to combine.
- Drizzle with the dressing when ready to serve.
Recipe adapted from Taste Australia.
Everyone loved it and polished the ginormous bowl of salad up. Try this as a side dish or a main, and let me know how it turns out!
KEEP ROCKIN’ AND COOKIN’!
BUNNY MUNCHIES 