The concept of ‘salad’ has changed a lot over the years. Growing up, salad for me meant crisp green leaves, sliced cucumber, salt, olive oil and a little white vinegar. Or garden ripe tomatoes with sliced garlic, dried oregano, fresh basil, salt and olive oil. My Nonna made an epic bean salad, beans fresh from the garden and soused in olive oil, vinegar and herbs, and we had lots of vegetable ‘sides’ but I wouldn’t strictly call them salads. ‘Salad’ meant something fresh, crisp and simple. It certainly wasn’t the main event, just something refreshing on the side.
These days, salads seem to have become so much more. A salad can be made with pretty much anything, and not necessarily crisp. With our appreciation for different cultures and exposure to the many cookbooks and cooking shows, the humble salad has taken a whole new direction. You only have to flick through the pages of an Ottolenghi cookbook to know what I mean. I’m not saying these salads are necessarily new inventions, but ideas from different nationalities brought to the fore. Ingredients that didn’t necessarily fit the salad mould are now fair game, opening the doors for a multitude of experimentation, using up what you’ve got, and the creation of incredibly tasty and healthy meals that can either be served as a sidekick or as the main attraction.
Pumpkin is one such ingredient that can make an utterly delicious salad. Roasted in small chunks, peppered with ground cumin, the crispy nuggets become earthy, slightly charred and blackened on the edges, yet yielding and velvety within. The perfect accompaniment? Salty prosciutto, baked in the oven until crispy enough to shatter into shards. I toss these two over a simple bed of young spinach leaves, green and spritely, they add the freshness that makes this a salad. These three ingredients are perfect as is, but add a little red onion, creamy toasted pine-nuts and shaved salty parmesan cheese and the salad elevates into something more complex. I sometimes add charred roasted capsicum strips or roasted baby tomatoes here, or replace the parmesan for crumbled Persian feta (because as with all recipes, this is a blue-print and welcomes alterations). Dress with the holy trinity; olive oil, vinegar and salt (plus a smidge of Dijon mustard for a kick) and voila! A salad that is comforting, satisfying and quite frankly addictive. I love it. Sure, I’ve borrowed flavours from all over the globe, but isn’t that the beauty of food? How dull would it be without the world of flavour?
Even if you are not a roast pumpkin enthusiast (I wasn’t), give this a go. And more importantly, if you’re not a salad person, if just the mention of the word ‘salad’ makes you think ‘rabbit food’ – I promise this will convert you!
You can roast the pumpkin, bake the prosciutto and toast the pine-nuts ahead of time and then assemble the salad just before serving.
Roasted Pumpkin, Prosciutto and Parmesan Salad
Ingredients
800g Butternut Pumpkin, cut into approximately 2cm cubes
Olive oil
2 tbsp ground cumin
Salt
8 slices prosciutto
100g pine-nuts
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
200g baby spinach leaves
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
60g parmesan cheese, shaved
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 C and place a sheet of baking paper onto a large oven tray. Add the pumpkin, drizzle all over with olive oil (around 3 – 4 tbsp), scatter over the ground cumin, a generous pinch of salt and toss to combine thoroughly. Arrange in an even layer and bake for 30 – 40 minutes, tossing every now and then, or until the pumpkin is tender and crisp on the edges. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Place the prosciutto slices onto an oven tray lined with baking paper (you can use the same one as you did for the pumpkin if you like, just transfer the pumpkin to another tray to cool) and bake for 10 – 15 minutes, watching carefully as very thin prosciutto may burn. You want the prosciutto crisp and just starting the curl up around the edges. Set aside to cool. Once cool, break into rough shards.
Toss the pine-nuts into a non-stick frypan and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until just starting to colour. This literally takes minutes so don’t leave the pan or the nuts will burn and taste bitter. Remove and allow to cool.
Whisk 1/4 cup olive oil with the vinegar and Dijon in a small bowl or jug until combined. If you have any small empty jars hanging around they are great for making salad dressings. Just add the ingredients, screw on the lid and shake.
When ready to serve, assemble the spinach leaves onto a large plate or platter and sprinkle over the sliced onion. Pour over the dressing with a good pinch of salt and toss to combine. Tumble over the pumpkin, scatter over the shards of prosciutto and pine-nuts and shaved parmesan.
Serves 4 – 6 as a side dish
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