Simple Autumn Salad with Pumpkin, Pecans and Cranberries
On Saturday night, it finally happened. I was standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus that would carry me home after an 11-hour shift at the shop working on a large, last-minute order. My back and feet were aching, but a strange feeling of lightness settled over me. I should feel worse than I do, I thought to myself. Just then a cool breeze kicked up and brushed past, carrying some of my exhaustion with it. While the days are still holding strong, in the evening, it’s impossible to ignore — fall is really here.
In honor of that mixture of warmer days with a little taste of autumn at night, I wanted to dress up my salads a little this week with a preview of what’s to come. This salad features honey roasted pumpkin, pecans, cranberries and a very, very simple and easy-to-make honey dijon dressing.
It comes together very quickly, once you have the pumpkin roasted, and even that isn’t very hands on. This is a busy time of year for me as a baker, so much so that I don’t really get to do a lot of the low-and-slow fall cooking I used to dedicate my weekends to, but that’s okay, because where there’s a will, there’s a way, and this salad has been a nice compromise.
Like all salads, it is highly customizable and would be just as good with any number of greens, I think. I used what I had on hand, which was romaine, red dandelion greens and a variety of baby greens. I think spinach would also be good, as its hearty enough to stand up to the other earthy ingredients. The honey dijon dressing also works as a stand-alone recipe and comes together in less than five minutes.
I hope you all are enjoying the same little jolt of energy I am with these cooler days that have not yet turned from energy-sapping heat to energy-sapping cold. And I hope you can make good use of this simple little recipe that celebrates fall in a lighter way. Take care, and I’ll see y’all again on Thursday.
Simple Autumn Salad with Pumpkin, Pecans and Cranberries
Ingredients
Honey Roasted Pumpkin
- 1 small green pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic
Honey Dijon Dressing
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salad
- 2 romaine hearts
- 2 cups red dandelion greens
- 1 cup assorted baby greens
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
- Slice the pumpkin into eight even wedges, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
- Stir together the olive oil, honey and garlic and use a pastry brush to brush the pumpkin wedges with the mixture, evenly coating it on all sides, except the rind.
- Place the pumpkin wedges on a cookie sheet and roast them in the oven until they are fork tender, but not mushy — about 30 minutes.
- While the pumpkin cools, stir together all of the ingredients for the dressing until everything is well blended and pour it into a jar for easy dressing and storing.
- Wash and chop all of your greens. Arrange them in a large salad bowl or into individual serving bowls and sprinkle over the pecans, cranberries and feta.
- Once the pumpkin has cooled, cut it into half inch cubes, being sure to remove all of the rind. Add the pumpkin to the salad.
- Drizzle over the desired amount of dressing, and serve.
