Roast Pumpkin and Baby Spinich Salad (with or without Chicken)

I remember one of the girls at work bring this in one night to share.  I instantly fell in love and it's kinda been my signature salad ever since.

With my usual cooking style, not too much cooking is involved!

Ingredients:

1 pkt shaved Parmesan cheese

1 pkt prosciutto

1 red onion

1 piece of pumpkin

Coriander

Balsamic Vinegar

I chop the pumpkin up into small pieces and roast.  During this roasting time I will lay out the pieces of prosciutto and cook them for about 10 minutes or until slightly crispy.  I then remove the prosciutto and chop into small pieces.  (I just use my kitchen scissors).

When it comes to mixing my salad, I just use my lettuce crisper.  It's the perfect size container and has a lid.  Plus I don't think I ever buy ice burg lettuce anymore, which means it really serves no other purpose.

So as you can see, I chop the red onion and add all the ingredients, bar the dressing and pumpkin into the container.  Then I simply shake it about until adequately mixed.

Then it's just a matter of pouring it into the serving dish.  I like to use a flat dish for this salad, only because it prevents all the pumpkin falling to the bottom.  

This weekend when I was making this salad, I was taking it to a friends for a BBQ.  So I kept the pumpkin in a separate container allowing me to microwave it prior to serving.  

Finally, when it comes time to serve you can add the balsamic vinegar.  Again sometimes we choose just to put the dressing on the side for people to add themselves.  This is a good idea if you think there is going to be left overs.  The salad will keep for a couple of days if there is no dressing added.

This probably isn't the most healthy of salads, but it's absolutely delicious and is a great alternative for a 'greens' salad at your next BBQ.

And if you'd like to make it a complete meal, just add a sliced chicken breast to it.

Cheers

Mandy