Roast Pumpkin, Red Pepper & Red Onion Salad
Introduction
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
1.5kg (3lb 3 oz) crown pumpkin, skin washed
Extra virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 large red or yellow peppers (bell peppers / capsicums), halved, cored, deseeded and cut into chunks
4 medium red onions, peeled, trimmed and cut into wedges or chunks through the root
1 cup small basil leaves
Dressing
1 Tbsp capers, dried on paper towels and finely chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Few pinches flaky sea salt
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
1 Preheat oven to 210°C (410°F).
You can cut the skin off the pumpkin or leave it on. Use a wide-bladed knife to cut the pumpkin into wedges, removing seeds. Put pumpkin in a shallow roasting dish large enough to hold it in a single layer and drizzle with a little oil. Massage pumpkin with oil until every piece is coated (there should be enough oil to do this generously, but not so much that the pumpkin is sitting in oil, or it will become soggy). Season with salt and pepper.
2 Cook pumpkin for about 30 minutes, turning pieces once, or until browned and lightly charred on the tips, but barely tender. Transfer the pumpkin to two large plates or a tray; don’t stack or the pumpkin will steam and soften.
3 Scrape out the dish, then add peppers and onions. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Stir with a large spoon to coat all the vegetables with oil. Return the dish to the oven and cook for about 30 minutes, or until peppers are lightly charred, stirring 2-3 times.
4 Whisk the dressing together. Layer the pumpkin, peppers and onions in a serving dish with masses of fresh basil, drizzling the pumpkin with the dressing as you go and adding any juices. Serve at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
See information about the correct knife for cutting pumpkin, and a couple of safety techniques. Pumpkin
Choose a pumpkin with a dense texture such as crown (Cucurbita maxima), grey, trimbale.