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This roast pumpkin salad with spinach and feta is perfect as a light meal or as a side dish. A wonderful combination of flavors and textures, one of my favorite autumn salads.

PUMPKIN SALAD

As mentioned a few posts ago, roast pumpkin is a staple in our house during the autumn/winter months. I roast a pumpkin quite often, keep the pieces in the fridge and use them in one way or another during the following week.

Often enough, I eat the roasted pumpkin as it is, as a kind of snack in between, I adore its flavor and its creaminess. And just as often I make a roast pumpkin soup or this roast pumpkin salad.

Well, not exactly the same salad every time. Salads are creative and easy to change according to what you happen to have, but this combination of creamy roast pumpkin, fresh baby spinach, salty feta and crispy roasted pumpkin seeds is just perfect for me.

INGREDIENTS FOR ROAST PUMPKIN SALAD

Pumpkin or squash:

To make the pumpkin and spinach salad I used the pumpkin (hokkaido/kuri squash) I’ve roasted a few days ago.

However, roasted butternut squash, kabocha squash (which is similar to hokkaido), sugar pumpkin or any other very flavorful pumpkin or squash would be fine as well.

Leave the large, watery pumpkins like jack-o’-lantern for decoration purposes, they have no flavor.

Spinach:

I had very fresh and crispy baby spinach, somehow I though the spinach was particularly crisp this time and that contributed to making an amazing roast pumpkin salad.

Alternatively, you can try rocket, I used it many times and its peppery taste compliments the roasted pumpkin beautifully.

Feta cheese:

Don’t use already crumbled feta, it’s not good. Buy a block of feta (ideally in brine, but that is not mandatory) and crumble the few grams you need yourself, it only takes about 3 seconds.

Pumpkin seeds:

If the pumpkin seeds you have are not already roasted, take the time to roast them quickly in the pan, it will definitely improve their flavor.

Dressing:

The dressing for the pumpkin salad with spinach is very simple. A vinaigrette made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and a little honey. Nothing more, nothing less and it fits perfectly.

HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN AND SPINACH SALAD?

Roast the pumpkin:

For a detailed blog post on roasting pumpkin, follow the link.
To make the roasted pumpkin salad, I needed one quarter of the pumpkin I’ve roasted. My pumpkin was relatively large, if your pumpkin or squash is smaller you might need half of it.
A quarter of my pumpkin weighed about 450 g/ 1 lb before roasting.

The shorter version:

Halve or quarter the pumpkin or squash, depending on size.
Remove the seeds.
Bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 50 minutes, depending on its size and on your oven.
The roasted pumpkin should be fork tender, but not turn mushy.
Leave to cool.

Pumpkin salad dressing:

I make the dressing in the bowl I use to serve the salad before I add the salad ingredients.
Pour the olive oil and the vinegar in the bowl.
Add the honey, some fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk well.
Adjust the taste and add more vinegar, if desired.

Roasting the pumpkin seeds:

Heat a skillet on medium heat. There is no need to add any fat.
Add the pumpkin seeds and roast them, shaking the pan very often.
Stand by to make sure that the pumpkin seeds don’t burn, that can happen very quickly.
Once the seeds are roasted and fragrant, transfer them immediately to a large plate and let cool.
If you leave them in the hot pan, they will continue roasting and might turn too dark and bitter.

Pumpkin salad:

Wash and dry the spinach well. Halve the onion and slice it thinly.
Place them in the bowl containing the dressing. Toss well to coat with the dressing.
Chop the roasted pumpkin into cubes (not too small) and fold them carefully into the salad.
Crumble the feta on top and toss very gently.
You can either leave the spinach in the bowl or arrange the spinach in two smaller serving bowls.
Sprinkle the roasted pumpkin seeds on top just before serving.

HOW TO SERVE PUMPKIN SALAD?

The roast pumpkin salad with spinach and feta serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side dish. The nutrition is calculated for 4 portions.

The pumpkin salad with spinach and feta can be served immediately. However, I had leftovers and they were just as delicious in the evening, if not even better.

Maybe I was just lucky with the spinach, I had mentioned above that this time I was able to buy a particularly crisp kind of baby spinach, the leaves were larger than usual, but so much better in taste and consistency.

The roast pumpkin salad makes a wonderful side dish for a roast, for chicken breast or for fish. And maybe a bit unconventional, but delicious: I’ve served the pumpkin salad with macaroni and cheese and I loved it.

Make the pumpkin salad with feta a complete meal by serving one of these dishes on the side: