• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

PepperOnPizza

  • ALL RECIPES
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Home » Salads » Roasted Pumpkin Pomegranate Salad with Labneh

Roasted Pumpkin Pomegranate Salad with Labneh

Published: Oct 1, 2019 Modified: Apr 5, 2020 By Sujata Shukla This blog generates income via ads. This post may contain affiliate links. PepperOnPizza may earn a commission for purchases made after clicking these links. View our disclosure policy for details

Sharing is caring!

99shares
  • Facebook 2
  • Twitter
  • Yummly 1
Roasted yellow pumpkin in a Roasted Pumpkin Pomegranate Salad with Argula leaves and pomegranates strewn on top. https://www.PepperOnPizza.com

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

At first glance, the Roasted Pumpkin Pomegranate Salad from Shaheen Peerbhai  (who blogs as Purple Foodie and is the author of the Paris Picnic Cookbook) is a warming winter salad. It is however a light and refreshing summer type of salad, or actually an any weather salad, with some unlikely ingredients coming together with a medley of colours and flavours.

Pumpkin Labneh Buckwheat Salad
Pumpkin Labneh Buckwheat Salad

 

The roasted pumpkin pomegranate Salad is easy to put together, though it does need some preparation, most of which can be done before hand. The roasted pumpkin drizzled with olive oil and the honeyed buckwheat come together beautifully with the creamy labneh (Arabian strained yogurt or hung curd) and the fresh rocket and pomegranate seeds. A secret ingredient in the salad is the pistou of basil leaves. All together a delicious, nutritious and fun salad for lunch, with a tall glass of iced tea.

Last month I attended Shaheen's second set of baking classes at Bangalore ( I had attended some sessions in the first batch in 2016, the first ever, held by this renowned Master Baker, at Bangalore).

Though I am a veteran Salad maker (and eater), the name of this item on the Brunch list seemed to me rather unlikely - pumpkin and pomegranates? With hung curd and honey roasted buckwheat? As I watched the process of carefully prepping each ingredient and then finally putting it all together, it was beginning to look more and more interesting.

The final taste of the pudding was in the eating - and it was so very melt in the mouth delicious - the roasted pumpkin still warm from the oven, dotted with fresh labneh and lathered with pistou, the sweetness of the pomegranate and the crunch of the honey buckwheat contrasting with the peppery rocket leaves - this Salad was a plateful of Gourmet Heaven.

When you watch Shaheen at one of her classes, this is one of the best take aways - the way you can mix and match ingredients to bring out their colours, textures and flavours, how to be bold and adventurous in shaping a dish to get the best of seasonal produce and the nutrition that comes with it.

I would have thought of nuts and cheese in this kind of Salad, but the labneh and the buckwheat were just so perfect instead!

Buckwheat as you may know, is one of the superfoods and an ancient one, at that. Here is a link explaining some of its nutritional and medical properties, on a website that  I came across: Nutrition and you

When I tried to recreate the Roasted Pumpkin Pomegranate Salad, recently, I made only one change to the Purple Foodie's recipe - I already had home made Basil Oil readily available so I substituted that for the pistou which the recipe calls for and then added a dash of lemon zest to the salad.

Check for my recipe on this Blog, for easy Basil Oil.

Homemade Basil Oil
Homemade Basil Oil

 

The recipe for the Roasted Pumpkin Labneh Buckwheat Salad with Pomegranate and Rocket, has several ingredients, and each of them need to be prepared separately.

Each one is easily made though, so don't let that put you off trying this uber delicious salad. Just keep in mind that the Labneh has to be made ahead of time and needs at least 4 hours for the whey to drain away.

Buckwheat is available in India in most Gourmet stores, some traditional stores, as well as online.

Other Salad Recipes You May Like on this Blog

Peruvian Kiwicha Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

peruvian kiwicha amaranth salad with buttermilk dressing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brown Rice Salad with Roasted Tomatoes

Brown rice salad with roasted tomatoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watermelon Bocconcini Arugula Salad with Basil Oil

A white plate with a scalloped edge, filled with cubes of Watermelon and Halved Bocconcini cheese, with fresh arugual and pepper flakes for an easy cooling Watermelon Bocconcini Arugula Salad with Homemade Basil Oil

Summery delicious nutritious Roasted Pumpkin Labneh Buckwheat Salad with Pomegranate and Rocket. With Contrasting textures & flavours

Roasted Pumpkin Pomegranate Salad with Rocket and Labneh

Course: Salad
Cuisine: American, continental
Keyword: labneh, pistou, pumpkin, roasted pumpkin
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Resting Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours
Servings: 2 people
Author: Sujata Shukla
Summery delicious nutritious Roasted Pumpkin Pomegranate Salad with Labneh, Buckwheat Rocket. Easy to put together, it is a pleasing medley of colours and flavours.
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Labneh / Hung Curd/ Strained Yogurt

  • 200 gm yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt - the original recipe calls for Sea salt

Roasted Pumpkin

  • 500 gms pumpkin cubed - Peeled, cubed to ½ inch sized pieces
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon pepper freshly ground
  • ¼ teaspoon salt - or to taste

Honey Buckwheat

  • 50 gms Buckwheat
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon pepper freshly ground

Basil Pistou

  • 15 gms Fresh Basil leaves - or 1 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 pinch salt - or to taste
  • ⅛ teaspoon pepper freshly ground

Other ingredients

  • 25 gms arugula leaves - rocket - 1 cup packed
  • 1 number pomegranate - arils from 1 pomegranate
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • to taste salt

Instructions

How to make Labneh

  • Tie the curd / yogurt in a muslin/ thin cloth, squeeze gently and allow to drain for a minimum of 4 hours or even overnight till most of the whey drips away.
  • Beat the labneh with olive oil, salt and pepper. Shaheen says, keep it fluid.
    Cover and set aside till required in a cool place.

How to make Toasted Honey Buckwheat

  • Preheat the oven to 160 deg C /320 deg F. Mix the buckwheat with honey, salt and pepper, so that the honey coats the buckwheat all over.
  • Spread the buckwheat on a baking sheet lined with parchment and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the buckwheat to a bowl so that it stops toasting, set aside till required. Shaheen says, if the buckwheat is not removed immediately from the hot tray and allowed to cool, it will harden.
    Toasting the Buckwheat with Honey

How to Roast Pumpkin

  • After removing the Buckwheat from the oven, increase oven temperature to 220 deg C (about 430 F) and let it reach that temperature before you proceed. Mix the pumpkin cubes with salt, pepper and olive oil, toss till the pumpkin is layered with the mixture.
  • Spread out the pumpkin cubes on a baking dish lined with parchment, checking to see that the pieces are not too close or touching each other, so that they can roast well. Shaheen advises that if the pumpkin pieces are crowded together, they will steam instead of roast. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes.
    Remove and set aside till required.

Basil Pistou

  • Link to my Recipe for homemade Basil oil is given in the introduction above and in the notes below. To make the Basil Pistou instead: Place the chopped basil leaves and garlic pod in the processor and run it with a teaspoon of the olive oil.
  • When its smoothly blended, whisk in the rest of the olive oil, the lemon zest and the seasonings. Set aside till required.

Roasted Pumpkin Labneh Buckwheat Salad with Pomegranate and Rocket

  • Extract the pomegranate arils from the fruit.
    Wash and spin dry or pat the arugula/ rocket leaves dry.
    Squeeze the juice from the lemon
  • Gently toss together the roasted pumpkin, the arugula leaves and the pomegranate arils.
  • For each serving, spread each plate with labneh. Heap a large helping of the pumpkin, arugula, pomegranate mixture onto the labneh. Sprinkle the honey buckwheat all around. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of Basil oil and a dash of lemon juice
  • Serve immediately.

Sharing is caring!

99shares
  • Facebook 2
  • Twitter
  • Yummly 1
Previous Post: « Arachuvitta Sambar with Coconut and Spice Paste
Next Post: Nourishing Masoor Dal for the New Mom: with Beans »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Paluk says

    May 20, 2017 at 12:05 pm

    wow...this looks awesome . I will make it soon

    Reply
    • Sujata Shukla says

      May 20, 2017 at 4:57 pm

      Thank you Paluk! It's become my fav now!

      Reply

Have something to Ask or Share? Let's Talk! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate This Recipe!




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Trending Now!

Glass bowl filled with bright orange thick Spanish Romesco Sauce with flecks of green from parsley. Almonds and parsley scattered in the background and a red and white checked cloth to the left

Spanish Romesco Sauce: Charred Peppers, Almonds

Shares: 844

Green hued Green Pea curry with red tomato and chunks of potato showing through, in a round brass bowl. On a brick coloured background with a beige fabric in the background

Matar ka Nimona - Spiced Green Pea Curry from Uttar Pradesh

Shares: 301

Colourful paper mache and clay dolls of Hindu Gods and other decorative items for Navaratri Golu in Chennai, India

Navaratri Golu and How To Keep It

Shares: 267

A colourful array of dry fruits, kiwi, pineapple, berries, citrus, papaya ready to be cut to soak fruits for Christmas cake

How to Soak Fruits for Christmas Fruit Cake

Shares: 318

Colourful Rotini Pasta from juicy cherry tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and spirally wholewheat pasta, on a white plate

Quick Rotini Pasta in Garlicky Burst Cherry Tomato Sauce

Shares: 282

A round sphere of basic Dough for pizza, rising in a glass bowl on a brown wooden background

Easy Basic Pizza Dough for Homemade Pizza

Shares: 281

Overhead view of a cup of yellow curried chilli zucchini soup, garnished with slices of red chillies, coriander, parsley and mint leaves and walnuts. A white napkin striped with dark blue to the left, and walnuts and red chillies to the right

Curried Chilli Zucchini Soup - Spice Up Your Evening

Shares: 316

Thick french style 2 bean sorrel soup granished with red sorrel leaves and black eyed peas seen on the surface. Red sorrel leaves in the foreground, all on a wooden background

French Style 2 Bean Sorrel Soup - Nutritious, Warming, Easy

Shares: 283

A glass bottle with green homemade basil oil. A green and white napkin in the background

Easy Fragrant Homemade Basil Oil

Shares: 414

A glass bowl with a greenish Purple Basil Pesto with some Purple basil leaves alongside

Easy Purple Basil Pesto with Pine nuts and Parmesan

Shares: 296

Hello There!

Hello from Sujata Shukla, the Author, Owner, Head Cook and Bottle washer at PepperOnPizza.com. The recipes I share with you are from fresh produce, vegetarian except for the occasional egg, usually made from scratch. Traditional Indian, specially Tamil recipes are my forte, along with a slew of Salads and Soups for a healthy lifestyle. Check out my Author Page!

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy & Disclosures
  • Medical Disclaimer

Hello There!

About Us

Contact

  • Contact Us

Copyright Notice:

Copyright © 2021 Sujata Shukla and PepperOnPizza.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material or any part of the content, including but not limited to Recipes, Posts and Images, without the express and written permission from this site’s author and owner is strictly prohibited. Full recipe is not to be posted - Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sujata Shukla and to PepperOnPizza.com with appropriate and specific links directing to the original content.

99shares
  • 2
  • 1