Thomasina Miers' Halloween recipe for miso roast pumpkin salad

I like to keep this sesame and ginger dressing in the fridge for speedy lunches. It’s delicious, full of good, healthy ingredients and easily thrown together. I recently made it with my eldest daughter, which has seen its approval rating increase dramatically at home, especially when we tossed it with pumpkin to make this spooky salad for Halloween. Have fun with the shapes and send me the pics.

Hallow’d miso roast pumpkin salad with sesame noodles

Great for weekday lunches at home, or in a box, because all the ingredients can be prepped in advance. Serve warm or cold, depending on the weather.

Prep 15 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 4

750g pumpkin or butternut squash
3 tbsp white miso
5 tbsp olive oil

For the dressing
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp honey
1 garlic clove, peeled and grated
½ thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

For the salad
125g dried noodles (udon, buckwheat, soba, etc)
500g red cabbage, finely shredded
1 large handful coriander leaves
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
Chilli oil, to serve

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas mark 7. Wash the pumpkin (no need to peel), then cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and cut into wedges. Cut each wedge into skinny triangles, like sharp teeth. If cutting a butternut squash, the long neck can be cut into similarly long, teeth-shaped wedges.

Whisk the miso in a large bowl with two tablespoons of the oil, add the squash and toss everything together to coat well. Tip out on to a lined baking tray, roast for 30-35 minutes, until tender and golden at the edges, then leave to cool.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the packet instructions – until al dente – then rinse under cold water. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in the bottom of a salad bowl. Add a few splashes of water to soften the taste, if need be.

Throw the squash, noodles, cabbage, coriander and spring onions into the bowl and toss well. Arrange some of the mix on plates in a suitably spooky style and serve the rest in the salad bowl with some red chilli oil alongside.

And for the rest of the week …

The dressing is delicious on grilled chicken or fish, roast sprouts, grilled purple sprouting broccoli or as a marinade. Make it and experiment.