About the Recipe
Pumpkin (or kabocha as the Japanese call it) is a much revered food in Japan. Take a look at Japanese woodblock prints and you'l find the pumpkin illustrated here and there in the works of Hokusai and Hiroshige. More recently, the famous Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has reinvented the pumpkin as as art object with her sculptures. As for me, I like to think my Japanese Pumpkin Salad looks as pretty as a picture too!
Ingredients
230g deseeded & peeled japanese pumpkin (kabocha)
150g courgette
70g red pepper
70g green pepper
1.5tbsp oil from sun-dried tomato jar
8 slices sun-dried tomato
150g butter beans
50g red onion
6 lettuce leaves
2 tbsp walnuts, roughly crushed
2tbsp hulled pumpkin seeds
salt and pepper
Preparation
cut the pumpkin, red and green peppers into bite sized chunks
slice the courgette into 1 cm pieces
halve the sun-dried tomatoes
thinly slice the red onion and soak in a bowl of water for 10 mins before draining
heat your oven to 190 C / 375 F
oil the pumpkin, peppers & courgette in a bowl, spreading them on a tray and roast for 15 mins
lay the lettuce leaves on a plate and assemble the rest of the vegetables on the top
your roasted pumpkin salad is ready to serve - just sprinkle with the walnut, pumpkin seeds, salt and pepper