Kabocha Squash is a fairly new discovery for me. I’d seen it on the supermarket shelves, looking all squat and wrinkly like a mean-green goblin, and ignored it for that very reason. It just goes to show how looks can be deceiving! I bought my first one last year after the shop sold out of butternut squash, and Whoa!! Kabocha is better than butternut squash!! Like waaaayyy better! A dense and sweet flavour, with a hint of nuttiness to it - which tastes amazing roasted in the oven with a few spices and a good glug of olive oil.
Even better, you can eat the skin too! I find peeling butternut squash such a chore - awkward-shaped slippy things! Then once I’ve peeled it, I live in complete fear of chopping all my fingers off in one go when I try to cut into it with my big knife. Bluergh! (I once ended up in A&E after chopping a nice slice from the top of my finger - and that was just chopping iceburg lettuce!) The kabocha itself doesn’t contain a huge amount of flesh. Once you cut it open, you’ll see that the vast majority of it is made up of seeds. At first I was a little disappointed - but then I realised that this just made the squash easier to prepare. Scoop out the seeds, and slice into strips - and you’re done.
The roasted squash is served with fresh spinach and creamy goats cheese, then sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and pine nuts before being tossed together with a tangy pomegranate dressing. Love love love this salad for dinner (it’s filling enough to serve as a main meal), and no longer will I be ignoring those little green goblins 🙂 My recipe for Roasted Kabocha Squash Salad first appeared in Superfood Magazine.
The Roasted Kabocha and Goat’s Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Dressing Recipe:
