Roast Pumpkin Salad Recipe

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Pumpkin is such a versatile food, and while it makes soups so deliciously smooth and creamy, here I’m going to share one of my favourite salad recipes.

High in beta-carotene (as well as other carotenoids), pumpkin has rich antioxidant capacity.  This means it can work as a great preventative/maintenance for the likes of cancer, heart attacks and even cataracts!  Leave the skin on and you’ll also up the fibre in your diet.

Vitamins A, C, E, Calcium and Folic Acid are all found in pumpkin, and it’s a good source of Potassium and Phosphorus.

Pumpkin almost grows itself in most climates, so if you’re considering starting a veggie patch, start with this guy!  I’d advise putting him in his own plot though, as pumpkins opportunistically take over every inch of ground if allowed.

Roast Pumpkin Salad

(I’ve intentionally omitted quantities as this works well either in bulk or just for a single serve, so adjust accordingly)

Ingredients:

Pumpkin – washed and roughly chopped into small chunks

Cooking oil

Feta – crumbled into bite size pieces

Rocket/Arugula leaves – washed

Baby spinach leaves – washed

Cherry tomatoes – halved

Purple onion – finely chopped

Pine nuts – dry roasted

Balsamic vinegar

Method:

Arrange pumpkin on a baking tray and toss with a small amount of oil.  Bake in a moderate heat/under a grill until soft and golden brown.  Remove from heat to cool.

Meanwhile, toss the leaves, tomatoes and onion in a bowl.

Transfer to a serving dish.  Add pumpkin and a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle with feta cheese and pine nuts and serve!

Author:  Adrienne Megan Lester