Posts Tagged autumn salad
Roasted Pumpkin Salad with a Za’atar dressing
Posted by Jayne in Uncategorized on November 10, 2013
Pumpkins were one of the successes on our allotment this year, although we didn’t grow a gigantic prize winner we did get a lot of smaller, more edible types, I grew 2 varieties this year Bon Bon which was a small variety and Musquee de Provence. Actually after buying my seeds I realised both were classed as squash, but squash or pumpkin they are used in the same way and any kind of pumpkin or squash will work here. I decided to try a Bon Bon first, its only small so was easy to use up, I simply sliced and roasted it. On its own served as a vegetable it was great, a really good tasting pumpkin with a nice texture. Even though it was only a small pumpkin there was still enough for several meals so the next day I made up this salad, it was so good I made it the day after too!
I love pumpkin in salad it lends itself to any flavour dressing and adds some autumn richness, salads feel as they ought to be more substantial now the weather is colder. I used za’atar in my dressing. Za’atar is a middle eastern herb blend containing marjoram, oregano, sesame seeds, sumac and salt. As well as using it in salad dressing I like to scatter it over roasted vegetables. It’s also lovely sprinkled over hummus. Za’atar is a handy herb blend to have in your cupboard.
This salad is great for lunch with the pumpkin either warm or cold. It would make a great starter served on a large platter with the pumpkin still warm from roasting. The feta cheese is an option but if you want to cut some calories or make this salad more paleo/vegan friendly leave it out.
Roasted Pumpkin Salad with a Za’atar Dressing (serves 2)
ingredients
- 100 grams spinach leaves, rinsed and well dried
- 1/2 a small red onion, diced
- 150 grams roasted pumpkin/squash
- approx 6 cherry tomatoes sliced into halves
- 30 grams feta cheese, cut into cubes (optional)
for the dressing
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 tsp za’atar herb blend
- sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
method
- Roast the pumpkin by de-seeding the pumpkin and slicing, drizzle with olive oil salt and pepper and roast on 200 C, 400 F, Gas 6 for around 30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender,
- Place the spinach, onion tomatoes and pumpkin in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- To make the dressing place all the dressing ingredients into a small jug and whisk quickly with a fork to combine the ingredients, stir until liquid becomes slightly thickened.
- Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss to coat. Serve the salad and place little bits of feta onto each salad, I don’t mix the cheese with the dressing as it breaks up.