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!
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.
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:
- Pecan and Pumpkin Brownies
- Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup
- Pappardelle with Squash, Chestnuts, Mushrooms and Sage
- Baked Pumpkin Risotto with Chestnuts
- Pumpkin Lentil Curry with Coconut
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Roast Pumpkin and Fresh Fig Salad
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
Nutrition
Perfect Autumn salad. All I need is a the woodburner lit and a light snooze and I’d be quite happy xx
Come and sit in front of my woodburner, we can share a plate and natter 🙂