When autumn knocks on the door, it comes, bringing with it the warm, embracing flavour of pumpkin. It’s the main ingredient of this season: the heart of this salad with grilled spring onion, walnuts and pomegranate yoghurt. A vegetarian recipe where rustic and elegant no longer clash but become the common thread to a tasty and surprising side dish, created to gracefully accompany any fish or meat-based barbeque.
Striking the perfect balance between simplicity and sophistication, warm roasted pumpkin salad will turn any meal into a taste experience to remember. Ready to give it a go together with us?
Warm roasted pumpkin salad with grilled spring onion and pomegranate yoghurt – the recipe
Difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
- One Hokkaido pumpkin
- a sprig of rosemary, some sage, a bay leaf and unpeeled garlic
- 4 spring onions
- 40 g walnuts
- 125 g Greek yoghurt
- 1/4 clove of garlic
- The zest of 1/2 untreated orange
- A pomegranate
- Valerian as required
- Extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper as required
METHOD
- Start with the pumpkin. The special feature of the Hokkaido pumpkin is its edible skin, in addition to its unique texture and aroma. Remove the seeds and cut the pumpkin into chunks.
- Transfer to a baking tray and season with the aromatic herbs and salt and drizzle with oil.
- Roast the pumpkin in the oven at 180°C for 20 minutes. A Palazzetti direct cooking oven is the perfect choice: a traditional refractory oven in which the energy source is inside the cooking chamber. Its main characteristic is its ability to accumulate the heat from combustion and then transfer it evenly to the food for many hours, even after the flame has gone out.
- While the pumpkin is cooking, wash the spring onions and cut them in half lengthwise. Brush them with oil and season with salt. Cook them on the grill, cut side down, for about 4 minutes. Turn them over and grill them further for a few minutes until tender.
- Place the walnut kernels in a small baking dish, toast them for a few minutes in the oven, together with the pumpkin, to release their aroma.
- Finally, prepare the yoghurt dressing. Add the grated orange zest and garlic, salt and a drizzle of oil to the Greek yoghurt. Stir.
- With the help of a centrifuge or extractor, extract the juice from 3/4 of the pomegranate; keep 1/4 aside. Alternatively, you can blend the pulp and sieve the seeds to obtain the juice.
- Add the pomegranate juice to the Greek yoghurt.
- All that remains is to arrange the dish: place the Valerian on the base, add the warmed pumpkin, the grilled spring onion, the chopped walnuts, the yoghurt dressing, a few pomegranate seeds kept aside, a drizzle of oil, a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper.
- Ready! Simply serve and enjoy!
