The perfect meal for the cooler weather - an autumn harvest roast vege salad with pumpkin, beets, feta, pinenuts & an epic maple orange dressing.
Guysssss guess what?? We have booked our honeymoon! YAY! We fly to Houston, Texas in June for 3 whole weeks! I'm SO excited! We're going to hire a car and do a ton of driving...it's going to be awesome! And hot. But mostly awesome. So if anyone has any suggestions of things to do in the Texas/New Orleans/southern states sort of area, let me know!
Knowing we are going to have a 3 week summer soon has made the transition to autumn a whole heap easier and I think a more appropriate name for this would be "we have officially let go of summer and embraced everything that is autumn with this salad salad"
Because that is totally what happened.
Well, sort of. This pumpkin was actually destined for soup. Pumpkiny, maybe a little bit of spice and some coconut creaminess if we're ok with that and can be on board with me adding coconut milk/cream to everything I eat at the moment? Yes? 😀 Except that it was super summery and hot over the weekend so I really didn't want to make soup. So I went and raided what is left of my garden, found some beets, spinach leaves, one of the pumpkins from the shed and made a perfectly autumn actual legitimate harvest salad. With things I GREW!! From seeds!!!
The excitement is so real and the levels of maybe needing to get out more have gone through the roof.
But I'm ok with that if it means I get to eat this salad all the time. I'm even pretty happy just looking at it in all its orange and purple glory - autumn colours are my fav!
The pumpkin and beets are drizzled with olive oil and roasted for 30 minutes and then haphazardly (100% because I love that word) thrown on top of spinach leaves and the beetroot greens because we're being super good and using all the parts of the things we grew, covered in feta, pinenuts and pumpkin seeds and then...oh boy. The dressing.
Adapted from this dressing, it has orange juice, olive oil, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and all the angels are singing because it's just perfect.
Drizzle it alll over and just stare at it for a bit. Because we MADE this!
And then eat the whole thing in one go because it's salad.
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Autumn Harvest Roast Vege Salad
Ingredients
- Salad
- Note - the quantities for the salad are just a guide - use as much or as little as you like.
- 1 small pumpkin deseeded and cut into 1 inch cubes, peeling is optional
- 8 baby beets peeled and cut in half
- Handful of spinach leaves and beet greens
- 100 g feta
- 2 tablespoon pinenuts
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- Dressing
- Juice and zest of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Spread the prepared pumpkin & beets on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Drizzle in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through and starting to soften.
- Place spinach leaves and beet greens on a serving platter. If you are going for looks, leave them whole and place them nicely, if going for practicality, chop them and scatter them in a bowl.
- Add the pumpkin, beets and sprinkle the feta, pinenuts and pumpkins seeds over top. Toss together if you like.
- Add all dressing ingredients to a jar, screw the lid on tightly and shake until mixed together. You can also whisk them together in a bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and serve immediately, or refrigerate if you want to serve it cold.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge for 2 days.
WOW!
Thanks looks amazing Laura. I love me a good salad and a big vegiful delight is totally winning me over. Also how good is a maple dressing, especially with a zesty zing. lifts the dish so much. nice one.
Thanks for linking up to YWF
Oh man, this maple dressing is my life right now! I'm so obsessed with all the autumn veges at the moment too...so colourful and delicious!
This looks delightful Laura! what an awesome side dish and a great way to get more vege in
Thanks Jayne! It's a perfect side dish but I've been taking it for work lunches too with a bit of fresh bread on the side...perfect!
Delicious AND magnificent! I want this on my dinner table! Love roasted pumpkin and beetroot. I wish I cooked with beetroot more, the mess totally puts me off haha.
Oh man, I feel ya! So messy!! I always end up with red hands for days 🙁 Worth it though, I love me some beets!
I have to tuck this recipe away for when it's autumn here in the states! That orange and maple dressing sounds UNbelievable, I cannot wait to give it a try!
Thanks Erin! It is the perfect autumn salad! The dressing is my new favourite...I want to put it on everything!!
We're finally starting to see some spring weather here in the Northern hemisphere but I would still eat this all right now - it looks gorgeous! Such rustic, delicious flavours 🙂
Thanks Grace! It's definitely something I could eat year round too! 🙂