Roasted Kabocha and Goat’s Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Dressing

Sweet Roasted Kabocha and Goat’s Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Dressing – You don’t need any meat to make it feel like a complete meal.

Kabocha Squash is a fairly new discovery for me. I’d seen it on the supermarket shelves, looking all squat and wrinkly like a mean-green goblin, and ignored it for that very reason.

It just goes to show how looks can be deceiving!

I bought my first one last year after the shop sold out of butternut squash, and Whoa!!

Kabocha is better than butternut squash!!

Like waaaayyy better!

A dense and sweet flavour, with a hint of nuttiness to it – which tastes amazing roasted in the oven with a few spices and a good glug of olive oil.

Even better, you can eat the skin too!
I find peeling butternut squash such a chore – awkward-shaped slippy things!
Then once I’ve peeled it, I live in complete fear of chopping all my fingers off in one go when I try to cut into it with my big knife.

Bluergh!
(I once ended up in A&E after chopping a nice slice from the top of my finger – and that was just chopping iceburg lettuce!)

The kabocha itself doesn’t contain a huge amount of flesh. Once you cut it open, you’ll see that the vast majority of it is made up of seeds. At first I was a little disappointed – but then I realised that this just made the squash easier to prepare.

Scoop out the seeds, and slice into strips – and you’re done.

The roasted squash is served with fresh spinach and creamy goats cheese, then sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and pine nuts before being tossed together with a tangy pomegranate dressing.

Love love love this salad for dinner (it’s filling enough to serve as a main meal), and no longer will I be ignoring those little green goblins 🙂

My recipe for Roasted Kabocha Squash Salad first appeared in Superfood Magazine.

The Roasted Kabocha and Goat’s Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Dressing Recipe:

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5 from 1 vote

Roasted Kabocha and Goat's Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Dressing

By Nicky Corbishley

Sweet Roasted Kabocha Squash Salad - with creamy goat's cheese and a tangy pomegranate dressing. A deliciously filling dinner - perfect for Meatless Monday!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 3 servings

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Japanese

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 small kabocha squash
• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ ¼ tsp paprika
• ▢ ½ tsp cumin
• ▢ ¼ tsp salt
• ▢ ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ▢ 100 g (3 packed cups) baby spinach
• ▢ 100 g (1 cup minus 1 tbsp)soft goat cheese roughly chopped (Capricorn Goats cheese is a good vegetarian option)
• ▢ seeds from half a pomegranate
• ▢ 3 tbsp pine nuts

Pomegranate Dressing:

• ▢ 4 tbsp pomegranate juice you can use bought pomegranate juice or squeeze the juice out of half a large pomegranate
• ▢ 4 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 tsp honey
• ▢ 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ▢ pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan).
• Cut the squash into 1” slices, remove and discard the seeds, then cut each slice into half-moons. Toss in the olive oil, then sprinkle on the paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.
  1 small kabocha squash, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp paprika, ½ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• Whilst the squash is cooking, make the dressing by mixing together all of the dressing ingredients using a fork. Pour into a small serving bowl.
  4 tbsp pomegranate juice, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp honey, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, pinch of salt and pepper
• Take the squash out of the oven and put to one side. Divide the spinach between three plates. Top with slices of squash, then sprinkle with goats cheese, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts. Serve with the pomegranate dressing.
  100 g (3 packed cups) baby spinach, 100 g (1 cup minus 1 tbsp)soft goat cheese, seeds from half a pomegranate, 3 tbsp pine nuts

Notes

Nutritional Information is per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 537kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 359mg | Potassium: 1337mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 7665IU | Vitamin C: 46.3mg | Calcium: 164mg | Iron: 4.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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