Day 28 of 31 days of pumpkin and I am craving salad, people! So maybe you’ll call it a cheat, but I’m eating a salad with pumpkin seeds in it and calling it fair game. And what a delicious salad it is. I found it in this wonderful little book, Halloween Treats: recipes and crafts for the whole family, by Donata Maggipinto. Published in 1998, it’s currently out of print, but is available from Amazon sellers:
The cumin-scented vinaigrette lends an air of mystery to this salad. The flavors of autumn come together beautifully. Frankly, I’m just glad to be eating something green.
Oh, and a word about roasting pumpkin seeds. I did a post earlier this month where I roasted the seeds with a rich, spicy coating, but for the salad, I just tossed them with olive oil and a lot of salt and roasted them on a baking sheet for about 45 minutes, turning them every 15 minutes. These pumpkin seeds had sat out on the counter drying for about two days, which I think enhanced the flavor in the end.
Autum Salad with Tangerines, Avocado and Pumpkin Seeds
Serves 6
Ingredients
For the dressing
2-3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp ground cumin
salt to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
ground pepper to taste
2 medium heads red leaf lettuce, leaves separated, carefully rinsed, and dried
2 tangerines, peeled and sectioned
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
6 Tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds
Method
1. In the bottom of a large salad bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, cumin, and salt and whisk to dissolve the salt. Add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking as you do so. Season with pepper.
2. Put the lettuce, tangerines, onion, avocado, and pumpkin seeds on top of the dressing in the bowl. If you are not serving the salad immediately, cover it with a damp kitchen towel and refrigerate until ready to serve. If you are serving the salad immediately, toss the greens lightly with the vinaigrette and serve.
