Heading into the second weekend of October it is definitely Autumn down here in the West Country! My obsession with all things pumpkin continues and today I am offering you a simple Fresh Fig Salad with Roast Pumpkin. I recommend a rich glass of red wine, a roaring fire and some good company to go with it!

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Roast Pumpkin and Fresh Fig Salad with Goat's Cheese, Beluga Lentils and Chilli Oil.

Why You Will Love This Satisfying Winter Salad

I love warm salads in autumn and winter and I’m a huge fan of fruit with savoury.

This is a soul-satisfying salad, full of the flavour of a summer well spent.

Crisp, peppery green leaves, earthy pumpkin, sweet figs and creamy cheese is a perfect combination of texture and flavour.

How to Roast Pumpkins

Roast squash is a staple of my autumn and winter kitchen and it’s really simple to do!

  • Slice it into segments and use a spoon to remove the seeds
  • Pop it into a roasting pan, drizzle with oil
  • Season with salt and pepper
  • Roast it in a moderately hot oven (200C/180 Fan/390F) for 25 – 45 minutes depending on the heft of your slices and the pumpkin variety.
  • When they are browned and fork soft, they are ready. 

If I have an abundance of squash I have a massive roasting session and then freeze what I don’t want to use immediately. Roast winter squash and pumpkins freeze really well and are great to have to hand. 

Top Tip: I don’t peel my squash before roasting and, unless it is particularly tough, I scoff the skin along with the flesh once it’s on my plate. 

Preparing Fresh Figs

I walked past the fresh figs in my local greengrocers for more years than I care to mention. It was one of those things I had no idea how to eat, I had never encountered one – it wasn’t the sort of thing which appeared on our table in my 1970s and 1980s Midlands childhood!

For this fresh fig salad recipe, I simply sliced my figs in half. You can also place them on their bottoms and slice them downwards almost to the bottom. Slice once again so you have a cross. Give them a squeeze at the base and they will open up like little flowers!

Toppings for Pumpkin & Fresh Fig Salad

  • I used a creamy vegan greek style cheese for this recipe but you could use smoked tofu or my creamy cashew cheese instead.
  • The chilli oil adds a nice spicy kick but hazelnut or walnut oil also works really well as does a drizzle of maple syrup if you have a sweet tooth!
  • A sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds adds texture and a lovely crunch.

 

How to Make Roast Pumpkin and Fresh Fig Salad

This really is as simple as:

  • Roasting some squash,
  • Frying up some onions and mushrooms
  • Assembling it all together with the other ingredients.

It’s quick, it’s delicious and it’s perfect for autumn. 

Roasted Pumpkin and Fresh Fig Salad with goat's cheese and chilli oil.

Tips, Tricks and Swaps

  • I’ve used pre-cooked beluga lentils here for a lazy lunch but if you want to cook some up from scratch you’re welcome to! If you can’t find beluga lentils then puy lentils are an excellent substitute.
  • Any sweet, firm-fleshed pumpkin will do for this recipe but don’t use the oversized flavourless Halloween pumpkins or you will have a mouthful of disappointment! I used munchkin pumpkins because they are small and cute but they are also fiddly! They look great in a photo but butternut or crown prince are less work and taste just as good!
  • You can jazz this fresh fig salad up a bit by roasting fresh sage leaves along with the pumpkin and throwing in a teaspoonful of dried chilli flakes when you are seasoning it.

More Pumpkin Recipes

If you’re looking for more pumpkin and winter squash recipes try my:

If you make my recipe I’d love to hear how it turns out for you. Please leave a comment and a star rating below and share your pictures with me on social media. Tag me @thinlyspread and include the hashtag #thinlyspread so I can see them!

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Roasted Pumpkin and Fresh Fig Salad with goat's cheese and chilli oil

Roast Pumpkin and Fresh Fig Salad

This simple warm autumn salad of roast pumpkin with figs, vegan cheese, beluga lentils and chilli oil is food for the soul.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Lunch, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine: English
Keyword: fresh fig recipes, pumpkin recipes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 892kcal

Ingredients

  • 200 g Pumpkin
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 red onion peeled and thinly sliced
  • 150 g chestnut mushrooms sliced
  • 250 g packet ready cooked Merchant Gourmet Beluga Lentils or puy lentils
  • 2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
  • 2 figs thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp chilli oil
  • 50 g vegan Greek style cheese
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

To Serve

  • 1 packet of bistro style salad with grated beetroot and baby ruby chard or a salad of your choice, this one is pretty!

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 200C/180Fan/390F
  • Slice your pumpkin into segments about 2cm/ ¾ inch deep, remove the seeds, leave the skin on and arrange them in a single layer in a baking tray.
  • Drizzle with half of the oil and season with salt and pepper, pop into the preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes until softened and brown in places, turning once.
  • While the pumpkin is cooking gently fry the red onion in the remaining oil until soft and beginning to brown.
  • Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their juices and then until the juices have evaporated.
  • Add the cooked pumpkin, the beluga lentils and the garlic and cook through gently for 3 minutes.
  • Season to taste.
  • Arrange the salad leaves on two plates, top with the pumpkin and lentil mixture and the fig slices
  • Crumble over the cheese and drizzle with chilli oil if liked.

Notes

Nutritional information is only an approximate guideline, created using an online calculator. Calculations will vary according to the ingredients you use and your cooking methods.

Nutrition

Calories: 892kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 886mg | Fiber: 44g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 8622IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 11mg
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