Pumpkin is just great! So sweet and versatile. I like it so much and when it starts to pop up at the farmers’ market it gives me ideas how to use it in the kitchen as much as I can.
Today it’s salad: a natural, healthy, tasty one. I called it Autumn salad to make a little homage to my favourite season of the year. I love its colours too, they cheer me up!

STEP 1
Take a large pan, put it on low-medium heat and add the bread crumbs. Stir gently and when they turn golden brown, turn the eat off and put them aside. For this recipe I used bread crumbs by Scottish brand Pulsetta that are both gluten free and vegan. Besides they are made of pulses – so packed with essential nutrition – and very good :).
STEP 2
Let’s wash the pumpkin, dry it with a kitchen cloth, remove the skin and then cut it in small cubes.
Take a large pan, add the extra virgin olive oil. Peel one clove of garlic, cut it in two pieces and put it in the pan. Put the pan on low heat. When the garlic turns golden remove it from the pan. Then add the pumpkin cubes and a pinch of salt. Turn the heat on medium-high and stir gently from time to time. My pumpkin was tender and took about 5 minutes to be ready. Put it aside, add some fresh thyme and let it cool down a little.
STEP 3
Wash the spinach, dry them.
Take a large salad bowl. Add the spinach, salt (as an alternative to salt I like gomasio a lot), the chickpeas, the cranberries, the pumpkin, the bread crumbs, the extra virgin olive oil.
Buon appetito!
Discover who is behind Pulsetta brand in my interview to CEO and founder Karsten Karcher:

Ingredients
Recipe for 4:
– 250 gr of fresh spinach
– 200 gr pumpkin
– 100 gr chickpeas (in a can or a glass jar)
– 50 gr cranberries
– 50 gr bread crumbs
– 1 clove of garlic
– 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for the pan
– 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for the salad dressing
– thyme
– salt