I recently attended a bring-a-dish dinner party to farewell a friend from town who happens to be a vegetarian. I was on salad duties and decided to whip up a Pumpkin and Risoni salad which is a personal favourite of mine. It’s light, fresh and delicious. This dish is perfect for a dinner party, BBQ or to be served with grilled fish or chicken. The lemon sings through and compliments the pepperiness of the rocket and the acidic bite from the tomatoes; while the creamy pumpkin and risoni balance the dish.

Ingredients

• 500g risoni
• 700g butternut pumpkin – peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes – quartered
• 200g baby rocket
• 1 large lemon
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees and a line a large baking tray with baking paper.
2. Par-cook pumpkin in a lare saucepan of boiling water, drain and place on a lined baking tray.
3. Coat lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper, place in the middle of the oven and bake 20-30 minutes or until golden.
4. Meanwhile, cook risoni in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 8 minutes or until cooked through as per packet instructions. Drain and cool.
5. Using a peeler, peel the rind from the lemon and finely slice. Juice the lemon and reserve.
6. Add pumpkin, tomato, rocket, lemon rind, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to risoni, toss until well combined and serve.

Enjoy!

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