Pumpkins are so versatile: you can boil them, roast them, make sweet or savoury dishes. What do I make from pumpkin? Pumpkin soup, pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin scones, roasted pumpkins, the list is long. But one of my favourite pumpkin recipes is pumpkin and fennel salad.
There are several version of it, but I like this one with the sesame flavour. If sesame isn’t the flavour of your choice, omit sesame seeds and oil and add roasted pumpkin seeds. This healthy vegetarian salad can be eaten warm or cold. Serve as a side or a light main meal with some freshly baked bread.
Pumpkin and Fennel Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 medium butternut pumpkin or small Kent pumpkin
- 1 fennel bulb
- Salad leaves of your choice
- 2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- A drizzle of sesame oil (omit if using pumpkin seeds)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Salt and white pepper to taste
First cut and peel pumpkin into chunky cubes or slices. Don’t throw the seeds away.
Then roast pumpkin in the oven or cook in a heavy skillet. Remove outside layers of fennel bulb and slice thinly on a mandolin (white part only). After that mix olive oil, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, honey, salt and pepper. Heat if serving salad warm.
Arrange salad leaves (I’ve used young rocket, green salad and beetroot leaves). Then top with cooked pumpkin and sliced fennel. Sprinkle sesame or pumpkin seeds and drizzle with dressing. And, your pumpkin and fennel salad is ready.
Pumpkin not only tastes good, it’s packed with goodness of alpha and beta carotene, potassium, magnesium, zinc, vitamins A and E and other nutrients with only 15 cal per 100 grams raw.
If that is not enough, pumpkin seeds are nature’s wonder food. Here you can find out how to roast pumpkin seeds without oil and have a snack that is all natural, vegan friendly and delicious.
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