Roast pumpkin, pear, avocado salad with blue cheese and raspberry balsamic dressing
This autumn salad plays on all your taste buds – sweet pear, creamy avocado, tart raspberry, earthy walnuts and salty blue cheese – a delicious combination!
Ingredients
Raspberry balsamic dressing
- ¼ cup raspberries fresh or defrosted frozen
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons liquid honey 1-2
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- salt pinch
- pepper pinch
Salad
- 600-700 g pumpkin or butternut cut into 2-3cm chunks (leave skin on)
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup or runny honey
- ¼ cup walnuts or hazelnuts chopped
- 2 handfuls salad greens e.g. baby spinach, silverbeet or cos leaves
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 ripe pear sliced
- 50-70 g blue cheese or feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200degC.
- Toss pumpkin or butternut with maple syrup/honey and a good drizzle of olive oil in a roasting tray lined with baking paper. Season with salt and pepper, and roast for 25-30 minutes or until tender and slightly sticky and caramelised around the edges.
- Make the dressing by placing all ingredients in a screw-top jar and vigorously shaking together until the raspberries have disintegrated.
- Lightly toast walnuts or hazelnuts in a dry fry pan (with no oil) for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, shaking around the pan frequently to prevent them burning. Then set aside to cool.
- To serve, arrange spinach, roast pumpkin, avocado, pear and nuts on a plate, scatter over blue cheese, and spoon over raspberry dressing.
Notes
The raspberry dressing is one of my favourites – it really complements salads with big, rich flavours like this one. If you have some leftover roast lamb, venison or steak, toss it through the salad.
*Leave out the blue cheese to make this salad dairy-free