Pumpkin fall salad with pomegranate, kale and goat cheese

Fall is here and for the first time ever I am actually excited about it! I think my sister’s love for fall have rubbed off on me, we have been buying crazy amounts of pumpkins (both to eat and for decoration) and lots of gorgeous flowers in orange/red fall colors. I am not too fond of the cold though, but I will admit that there is something cosy about snuggling up on the couch with lots of blankets and a warm cup of tea – especially when it is raining.

I have made so many different fall inspired recipes this past week and I cannot wait to share all of them with you guys! The first one I want to share is this delicious and filling pumpkin salad – can you believe that this was actually my first time cooking with pumpkin?! I don’t know why I have never tried it before, but let me promise you that pumpkin will definitely be something you are going to see a lot more of here on the blog!

I am awful at calculating servings, but I like to serve this as a side salad for 4-6 people or it could also make a full meal for 2-3 people.

Find more of my salad recipes right here!

Salad ingredients:
1 hokaido pumpkin (or your preferred kind of pumpkin)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt

1 deciliter (about 1/2 cup) quinoa, cooked
The seeds from 1 pomegrante
4 large handfuls chopped kale
2 large handfuls spinach
40 grams (equals 1.4 ounce) pine nuts
100 – 200 grams (equals 3.5 – 7 ounce) goat cheese* (kindly sponsored by Taverna) or feta cheese – adjust amounts to your liking

*the goat cheese I used was it was kinda like feta, it came in a block with feta like texture instead of the very creamy goat cheese rolls that I am used to. It works perfectly for this dish, but it can be subbed for regular feta as well.

Dressing ingredients:
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
Salt + pepper to taste

Note: I usually never use all of this, but you can keep the leftovers in an airtight jar in the fridge for about a week.

Directions:
Start by preheating your oven to 200 c / 400 f. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces (as in the photos) and add them to a plastic bag along with the olive oil, shake vigorously to make sure the pumpkin is covered evenly in the olive oil. Add the sea salt as well (adjust amounts to your liking) and shake again to ensure the salt is evenly divided. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray lined with baking paper with the peel facing down against the baking paper. Bake the pumpkin for about an hour at 200 c / 400 f until the pumpkin is tender and is starting turn dark around the edges.

While the pumpkin is in the oven you can cook the quinoa according to the package instructions, prep the pomegranate, wash and chop the kale and spinach, whisk together the dressing ingredients + toast the pine nuts. I usually toast the pinenuts on a dry pan on medium to high heat – I like to add a little bit of sea salt as well. Toast the pinenuts until they become dark golden and fragrant, but make sure to stir well or they will get burnt.

Then all there is left is to assemble the salad. Start by adding the kale + 2 tablespoons of the dressing to a bowl. Massage the kale leaves with your hands, scrunching the leaves together for a couple of minutes until the kale is tender, darker in color and well coated in the dressing. Then add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and serve with the rest of the dressing on the side, enjoy!