Salad w. Oven Roasted Pumpkin & Feta Cheese

Hello pumpkin lovers!

I’m so excited that pumpkin season is here and I have to say, it’s one of my all-time favorite vegetables.

It’s beautiful, it comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes, it’s healthy, and it’s so wonderfully low in calories that you can enjoy it without feeling guilty.

I was introduced to squash a few years ago when I traveled to Vietnam and Australia.

We had a favorite restaurant in Hoi An, Vietnam, that made the best pumpkin stew with garlic, white wine, almonds, and something else.

It was just magical, and when we traveled to Australia a few weeks later, where pumpkin grows like crazy, we kept trying to copy and indulge in this magical Vietnamese pumpkin dish (I think we almost nailed it).

As I write this post, I realize that I need to make it again soon, and of course, share it with you here on the blog.

Last Saturday night I hosted a little tapas and red wine girls’ night out! We all prepared and brought a dish, and it was a huge success.

I made this roasted squash salad, a recipe that had been brewing in my head and needed to be tested.

It turned out to be a wonderful dish that will definitely be repeated throughout the fall.

I grabbed my camera and an assistant (thanks Therese) and tada!

The material for this post was born.

So please, try the recipe and promise me that you’ll go crazy for pumpkin.

I’ll promise you I’ll bring you another magical pumpkin dish soon, and another, and another.

Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

So come on, take a pumpkin and let’s cook!

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Salad w. Roasted Pumpkin & Feta

Course Salad
Servings 4
Calories 373kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 medium/large sized Hokkaido pumpkin
  • 150 g feta cheese (I used goats feta)
  • 50 g nuts or pine nuts
  • 100 g baby leaves mix (spinach, ruccola, arugola, red chard etc.)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Salt & pepper

Cherry vinaigrette

  • ¼ cup cherry vinegar (or another fruit or berry vinegar)
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Salt & pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 °F/200   °C
  • Rinse your pumpkin (you are gonna use the peel). Cut it into half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut the the pumpkin into slim boats (see picture) and place them on a parchment covered baking stone. Drizzle with honey, olive oil, nutmeg, salt & pepper, and bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until the pumpkin has become tender and golden. Set aside to cool.
  • Make the vinaigrette by thoroughly whisking oil and vinegar  until they emulsify. If you use a vinegar which is less sweet and more sharp, you might need to replace some of it with more oil. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Remember  the best way to test the flavor of your vinaigrette is to dip a piece of lettuce in, shake off the excess and then take a bite. This will give you a better sense of how your salad will taste than by tasting the vinaigrette “straight.”
  • Roast the nuts in a pan or in the oven for 5 minutes until golden and chop them (unless you use pine nuts).
  • Wash and dry salad leaves and place in a bowl or big dish. Add the baked pumpkin and toss it gently together with the salad and the vinaigrette. Use your hands to chunk up the feta cheese and top the salad with it. Sprinkle the roasted nuts on top.

Notes

Serve with some nice bread and a pesto (or if you have a paleo dude present a big nice steak)

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 430mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 161IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 195mg | Iron: 1mg