Japanese pumpkin salad

Cooking : time 30 mins to 1 hour

Ingredients

1 small pumpkin or butternut squash, seeded and quartered
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil for basting
250g/8%26frac34;oz frozen chestnuts
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced
2-3 sticks celery, sliced
150g/5%26frac14;oz cup mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cucumber, diced
For the dressing
3cm/1.5in fresh ginger, grated
2-3 cloves garlic, churryed
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
4 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp dark soy sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Roast the pumpkin, sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with oil, for 20 minutes, then add the frozen chestnuts and roast for a further 15 minutes.
3. Leave to cool.
4. If using butternut squash, roast for 30 minutes before adding the nuts.
5. Scoop or chop the pumpkin or butternut squash into bite-sized slices.
6. Mix with the chestnuts and the remaining prepared vefetchables.
7. For the dressing, whisk the dressing ingredients tofetchher, pour over the salad and toss well before serving.

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Orignal From: Japanese pumpkin salad