Roasted Pumpkin, Baby Spinach, Fetta and Crispy Bacon Salad with a Walnut Vinaigrette

Roasted Pumpkin, Baby Spinach, Fetta and Crispy Bacon Salad with a Walnut Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
400g Butternut pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes
1 tablespoon Olive oil and extra for frying
150g Bacon, cut into thin strips
300g Baby spinach
2 tablespoons Walnut oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Brown sugar
120g Fetta, broken into rough pieces
70g Californian walnuts, roughly chopped
Pine Nuts Lemon juice to taste
Salt and Pepper

Method
Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Place the cubes of pumpkin onto an oven proof tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Cool. While the pumpkin is cooking, heat a small amount of olive oil in a frying pan and add the strips of bacon, frying until brown and crispy. Drain onto a paper towel and cool. Wash and dry the baby spinach. In a small bowl, combine the walnut oil, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and lemon juice, adding salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the ingredients together to make a vinaigrette. Place the spinach in a large mixing bowl and drizzle the vinaigrette all over. Add the pumpkin, pine nuts and fetta and toss together. Place into a salad bowl or deep platter. Sprinkle the bacon and walnut pieces over the salad and serve.