Warm flavour for cold, wet days. Roasted Pumpkin Apple & Onion on Mixed Kale, part of our Simple Sides series. Thank God for simple, what would we do without simple in the kitchen?
After a long day, it’s often a challenge to muster up the energy for scratch cooking. It’s so tempting to just open a box or boil a bag, but with a couple of great tips from the pro kitchen, you can have a great meal in no time with little effort. Working as a food professional it’s necessary for me to maximize my time and be as efficient as possible.
Gypsy Kitchen Tip: One of the best tricks to cut down on time in the kitchen is to put the oven to work for you. Many things I used to saute I now roast. This makes for less mess and less time spent at the stove. Simply pop it in the oven and let the even (400°F) heat do your cooking for you while you take care of more important things… like laundry. (My life is plagued by laundry.)
Gypsy Shopping Tip: Cooking pumpkins are the small, tasty ones, large jack-o’-lantern pumpkins have little taste, so be sure to pick the right pumpkin.
Doing it Italian Style
Roasted Pumpkin Apple & Onion on Mixed Kale is a riff on a classic Italian side dish, Sauteed Pumpkin Apple & Onions. Lightly tossed in olive oil, it underscores the savory side of pumpkin and pairs perfectly with pork or chicken. Here we roast a bit of autumn produce with some signature fall herbs and finish with a light splash of citrus and a drizzle of oil on bright, healthy greens for a salad packed with nutrition and colour.
Bagged pre-washed organic greens and pre-cut, pre-peeled pumpkin (or butternut squash) saves oodles of time. Just cut your apples and onions and, boom baby. Dinner. Keeping it simple.
Warm flavour for cold, wet days. Roasted Pumpkin Apple & Onion on Mixed Kale, part of our Simple Sides series.
Ingredients
Scale
3 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded & cut
2 medium onions, cubed
2 medium apples (golden delicious preferred), cubed, skin on
2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for dressing)
1 sprig fresh rosemary (or about 1 1/2 teaspoons dry)
1 sprig fresh thyme (or about 1 1/2 teaspoons dry)
1 head kale, deveined, washed & coarsely chopped (or 1 bag of mixed kale)
1 large orange
Sunflower or pumpkin seeds to finish
Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
In a large bowl combine pumpkin, onions & apples. Toss and coat with olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt & pepper then spread evenly on a baking sheet sprayed well with non-stick spray. Roast in pre-heated 400°F (220°C) oven for 30 – 45 minutes, turning the roasting mixture halfway to brown more evenly.
When fully cooked & lightly browned remove pumpkin, apple & onion from the oven and cool slightly. Add kale in a layer on the bottom of your serving bowl, season lightly with salt & pepper. Arrange warm pumpkin, apple & onion mixture on top of kale, drizzle with good quality olive oil, then squeeze your orange, rendering the juice over the entire salad, finish with sunflower or pumpkin seeds and serve immediately.
Notes
Change is good. Punch this recipe up with a change of citrus: try tangerine, mandarin, pink grapefruit or blood orange instead.
Cooking in her home kitchen just outside Ottawa, Canada; Cori Horton is a food photographer and recipe blogger. A Cordon Bleu-trained Chef, Cori spent five years as the owner of Nova Scotia's Dragonfly Inn and has been sharing all things delicious - right here - since 2010.
Roasted Pumpkin Apple & Onion on Mixed Kale – Simple Sides – Food Gypsy http://t.co/QHlakbYVCR