Beth's pumpkin, spinach & prosciutto salad

 I am blessed to have a number of friends who are amazing cooks and always happy to share recipes and tips. One of these is the amazing Beth. Beth makes cooking for a crowd always seem so easy – she whips up interesting salads, marinades, and delicious desserts, all of which seem to appear out of her TARDIS-like fridge.

This salad is one of Beth's. Easily scaled up or down to suit the size of the crowd, it can be prepped the day before and quickly assembled as required. It's flexible too – I’ve added toasted pine nuts, or swapped out the parmesan for crumbled feta just for a change. But you always come back to the classic recipe – a real winner!

Thanks, Beth, for sharing this recipe and allowing me to share it with the world. :)

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

• 1 kg pumpkin, peeled and cubed

• 100 g baby spinach

• 50 g shaved parmesan

• 100 g prosciutto

• Olive oil

• Balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 190°C fan/210°C.

Place cubed pumpkin in a single layer on an oiled baking tray. Separate the prosciutto and lay it across the pumpkin.

Roast for 20 minutes. Remove the prosciutto and, using a spatula, turn the pumpkin gently. Continue roasting the pumpkin until tender, approximately 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and, while still warm, loosen the pumpkin from the tray. Allow to cool.

Break up the prosciutto and set it aside.

Place baby spinach onto a serving platter and drizzle with 1 tbl of balsamic vinegar. Arrange the cooled pumpkin on top and sprinkle with parmesan. Drizzle with more balsamic vinegar.

To finish, sprinkle with prosciutto.

Additions: Crumbled feta instead of parmesan, toasted pine nuts.