So the weather is warming up, the nights are getting longer and the last thing you want to do when you get home is stand around and slave over a hot stove.
Here is one of my favourite salads – it’s super easy to make and it can be made in advance and just thrown together at the last minute. I store the prepared ingredients separately then just toss it all together at the last minute. The roasted pumpkin will easily last in the fridge for 2-3 days or even a week depending on how often you use your fridge.
You’ll notice that I haven’t given measurements for this salad. That’s because I am leaving it all up to you. You can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like. This works well as a main salad – I love it for work lunches – or as a side salad. The choice is yours.
Pumpkin & Spinach Salad
Butternut Pumpkin
Baby Spinach
Feta Cheese ( a creamy style, I really like Danish Feta)
Pine nuts
Walnuts
Balsamic dressing – optional
1. Pre-heat oven to 180c and line a baking tray with non-stick paper.
2. Cut your pumpkin into small cubes around 1.5cms each and place them on the tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil to help them go crispy. Roast for 20-30mins until the pumpkin is tender but still hold its shape. Once roasted set aside to cool.
3. While the pumpkin is roasting you can toast the pine nuts.
Place a fry pan on a medium heat and add your desired amount of pine nuts. Don’t add any oil as you want to dry toast them to bring out the slightly nutty flavor. This will take a couple of minutes maximum to do. Just keep moving the pan around to evenly toast the nuts. Set aside to cool.
4. In a large bowl, place your spinach and add the pumpkin, pine nuts and walnuts. Cut up the feta into pieces similar size to the pumpkin and add this to the salad. Mix all together and serve.
It’s as simple as that
You can dress it with balsamic of you like, I prefer it without the dressing as the creamy feta ends up coating everything as you mix it, but the balsamic adds another layer of yummy flavor.
Enjoy xoxo
p.s There was meant to be a pic, but out of all the food photos I take can you believe I’ve never taken one of this salad. I’ll update it the next time I make it.