Spiced Pumpkin and Nut Salad Made with FlareLine "NUTTY FLARE"

For this pumpkin salad, only half is mashed; the rest stays in cubes. In the mouth, the smooth parts and the fluffy parts stay distinct, so the flavor never turns monotonous.

FlareLine "NUTTY FLARE" is a blend with two nuts high on its ingredient list. The roasted aroma of peanuts and pistachios lands squarely on the pumpkin's sweetness. The habanero's heat only shows faintly from behind, so even in a cold salad it never turns sharp.

Nut aromas don't tolerate heat, so the dressing goes in only after the pumpkin has cooled. Keep to that one rule and the rest is just mixing. Chilled in the refrigerator, it can go straight onto a platter for the Obon table. Why not prepare it the day before?

Total time: about 25 min

Add to this 15 minutes of chilling in the refrigerator.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• FlareLine "NUTTY FLARE" — 1 tsp
• Kabocha pumpkin — 1/4 (about 400 g)
• Onion — 1/4
• Cucumber — 1
• Mixed nuts (unsalted) — 30 g
• Yogurt (unsweetened) — 3 tbsp
• Mayonnaise — 2 tbsp
• Lemon juice — 1 tsp
• Salt — 1/3 tsp
• Pepper — a pinch

Preparation

1. Remove the seeds and fibers from the pumpkin with a spoon and cut it, skin on, into 3 cm cubes. It is hard, so set the knife blade against it first, then press the pumpkin to the cutting board and cut with your body weight behind it.
2. Slice the onion thinly along the grain, soak in water for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the water thoroughly.
3. Slice the cucumber into thin rounds, sprinkle with a pinch of salt (not from the measured amount), leave for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the released water. Leftover water thins the dressing and makes the salad soggy.
4. Roughly chop the mixed nuts.

Instructions

1. Put the pumpkin in a heatproof bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and microwave at 600 W for 6–7 minutes. When a bamboo skewer slides through easily, it is done.
2. While it is hot, mash only half of it with the back of a fork. Leave the rest in cubes. Mashing it all makes it pasty, so stop at half.
3. Leave it uncovered for about 10 minutes to cool down. Dress it before it has cooled and the nuts' aroma will fly off.
4. Add the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and mix.
5. Add the 1 tsp of FlareLine "NUTTY FLARE", the squeezed onion and cucumber, and the chopped mixed nuts, then fold together lightly.
6. Chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Taste before serving and adjust with salt if needed.

FlareLine is salt-free, so you can season as you always would. If something feels missing, try an extra pinch of NUTTY FLARE instead of salt.

NUTTY FLARE contains peanuts and pistachios. Please take care if you have a nut allergy.