Vegie Smugglers

Here’s one last BBQ side dish for the summer – my version of a pumpkin, haloumi and spinach salad. You can serve it cold in summer or warm in the winter, so all you Northern Hemisphere smugglers can enjoy it right now as well.

It’s back to the idea I talked about when I made Panzanella – just serve good healthy stuff and enjoy it and hopefully the kids will join in a bit. Miss F likes the squeaky cheese and spinach (with the yummy sweet dressing). Mr M&P doesn’t find much to his satisfaction here yet, with the exception of the cashews and pine nuts. Sometimes these things take time.

Cashews and pinenuts are the big lures.

Roast pumpkin & haloumi salad

600g butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into 1.5cm cubes
Olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup roasted, unsalted cashews
1 block haloumi cheese
Baby spinach leaves
Baby cos leaves
3 spring onions, finely sliced
½ red capsicum, finely diced

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp grapeseed oil (olive oil will do and if you have it, a bit of hazelnut oil mixed in is DELICIOUS!)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

Toss the pumpkin cubes in the olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a single layer on the tray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until just tender but not totally squishy.

Place a frying pan over medium heat and add the pinenuts. Dry roast, stirring often to avoid burning. Remove and set aside.

Return the pan to the heat and add some olive oil. Slice the haloumi into 1cm thick slices and fry on each side until golden.

In a large salad bowl, mix together the leaves, onions and capsicum. Toss through the nuts and tear up the haloumi into bite-sized pieces. Pop in the pumpkin.

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together and pour over. Give everything a good mix and either serve warm, or leave in the fridge and serve cold.

Serves 4 adults and 4 kids as a side dish.