Roast pumpkin, spinach & dukkah salad

Yesterday I wrote about the macadamia and lemon myrtle dukkah I had made. This was a real winner when added to bread dipped in olive oil. It was a real treat to have this with an end of day glass of wine.

The traditional dukkah version can be amended by replacing the combinations of nuts or spices used and you can vary the quantities of these to your particular taste. As well as a really tasty dip to dunk your bread into, dukkah can be used as an ingredient itself in any number of dishes. Lamb, chicken or fish with a dukkah crust, potatoes fried in olive oil, garlic and dukkah, a succulent roast of butterflied meat with a dukkah, breadcrumb and mushroom stuffing in the centre...but I digress!


I decided to use the dukkah I'd made in a simple salad of sweet roasted pumpkin, red capsicum and spinach. If I wanted to make this a more substantial salad, I would normally also add some chickpeas as well as other roasted vegetables like zuchinni, eggplant and carrot. As this was a side dish to a chicken main, I wanted to keep it simple.

As well as the vegetables, the addition of a couple of heaped tablespoons of the dukkah gave this salad a great texture and flavour. The lemon myrtle combined with the lemon juice in the dressing delivered a zingy kick and freshness.


I ate the leftover salad for lunch the next day and it was delicious as the dukkah and dressing had imparted even more flavour. This is a handy salad if you needed to make one ahead of time or make it in a larger quantity to eat later.

Roast pumpkin, spinach & dukkah salad
Ingredients:
½ butternut pumpkin, cut into half inch cubes
(Optional: 1 small zucchini, ½ eggplant, 1 large carrot cubed)
100g baby spinach
(Optional: 120g canned chickpeas, rinsed)
1 small capsicum, chopped
2 heaped Tbs dukkah of your choice
1 Tbs olive oil
S&P
Dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp honey
S&P

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place pumpkin and any other vegetables to be roasted on the tray. Drizzle over the olive oil and add S&P to taste. Mix well. Bake for 30 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through. Remove from the oven and place vegetables into a salad bowl.
3. To vegetables, add chickpeas if using, capsicum, dukkah and spinach.
4. To make the dressing, whisk together all the dressing ingredients ensuring the honey is dissolved in the dressing. Add the dressing to the salad while the roast vegetables are still warm. Serve.

Shredded chicken Asian salad

Meal worthy salads are one of the staples at the Shady Pine. A tasty salad that is substantial enough to eat as a meal and also one that can be made in larger quantities to be eaten later is a winner in my book.


I made this salad using leftover rotisserie chicken but feel free to replace this with a home roasted chicken or even a slowly poached chicken breast in some chicken stock and maybe a few aromats like ginger, coriander roots, lemongrass or the like.

I added vegetables I had; carrots, red cabbage and spring onions. I also intended to use finely sliced red capsicum but forgot. Again, what you use here can easily be adapted. Replace the red cabbage for wombok, add some bean sprouts or shredded snow peas or both.


This salad can be an easy mid week meal or it can be made in a larger quantity, served on a beautiful platter, sprinkled with toasted peanuts and served at an al fresco luncheon on a warm day (with a glass of chilled sauvignon blanc or perhaps).



Shredded chicken Asian salad
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 cup of cooked chicken, shredded
1 carrot, grated
3 spring onions, white and green parts chopped
1 cup red cabbage, finely shredded
½ cup coriander leaves

Dressing:
½ long red chilli, finely diced
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
2tsp raw caster sugar
2 Tbs olive oil

1. Combine chicken and all salad vegetables into a bowl
2. Combine all the dressing ingredients and mix well. Pour dressing over the salad vegetables and mix through the salad. (Sprinkle with toasted peanuts or sesame seeds if desired).