Insalata di zucca e cipolle rosse

Again with the Italian!!! I know, Hubby is of the same mind but I just can't stop myself. And who knew that it is so healthy too! I'm not going to rest now until I've made just about every single recipe in the book, might take me a century but I'll get there ;0)

Roast Pumpkin and Red Onion Salad

800g prepared pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into 8 even sized slices

8 garlic cloves, unpeeled, lightly crushed

5 tbsp olive oil (I used fry lite)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

20g pinenuts (optional)

2 red onions, each cut into eight wedges

6 sprigs of thyme

400g spinach (the original recipe uses lettuce), washed

10ml balsamic vinegar

25g parmesan, shaved

Preheat the oven to 200C. Put the pumpkin pieces and garlic cloves on a baking tray and drizzle with two tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 20 mins. Meanwhile, dry roast the pinenuts in a frying pan, if using.

Add the onion wedges to the baking tray with a further 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and extra salt and pepper. Tuck the thyme under the onions and pumpkin and cook for another 20 mins, or until the pumpkin is soft and the onions are lightly caramelised. Leave to cool to room temp.

Separate the leaves of the spinach (or lettuce) and dress with 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Arrange the pumpkin and onions on top of the leaves, discarding the garlic and thyme (I couldn't bare to discard the garlic and serve the cooked cloves in the salad, that way people can decide if they want to peel and eat it along with the pumpkin red onion or leave it on the side. Roasted garlic is too good to pass up in my book though). Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and a little extra olive oil. Scatter with the parmesan shavings and pinenuts, if using.

Serves 6 as a side

Adapted from 'The Italian Cookery Course'

This salad is so yummy that we eat it as a main meal now, in which case it serves 2 to 3 people.