Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

A cornucopia of flavors and textures playfully complement each other in this autumn salad

Recipe by: Gabrielle

SERVES: 6

Wine Pairing: Gabrielle Collection Vertex Cuvée Red Wine Blend 621, North Coast

PREP + COOK TIME: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1¼ cups apple cider, unfiltered
3 Tbsp. GC Napa Valley Natural Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp. shallot, minced
1 baking pumpkin, about 4 lbs., washed and dried
2 Tbsp. + 1 Tbsp. GC Napa Valley Natural Buttery Proprietary Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. GC Napa Valley Natural Orange Infused Honey
½ tsp. + ½ tsp. + ½ tsp. GC Napa Valley Natural Sage Finishing Sea Salt
¼ tsp. + ¼ tsp. + ¼ tsp. GC Napa Valley Natural Lemon Tellicherry Pepper
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup 2016 Gabrielle Collection Vertex Cuvée Red Wine Blend 621, North Coast
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
6 Tbsp. GC Napa Valley Natural Blood Orange Olive Oil
8 oz. baby spinach-baby arugula blend, 1 oz. each salad
2 sweet apples, quartered, deseeded, cut 30 thin slices, put in 2 cups water + 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup pomegranate seeds (arils), 1 tsp. each salad
½ cup Olive Oil Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, 1 Tbsp. each salad (See Recipe)
½ cup feta cheese crumbled, 1 Tbsp. each salad
½ tsp. GC Napa Valley Chardonnay Finishing Sea Salt

TO PREPARE

Vinaigrette Part 1: Add to a small saucepan the first 3 ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce liquid for about 30 minutes to ⅓ cup, then remove from heat. While reducing prepare pumpkin.
Roast pumpkin: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl mix 2 Tbsp. Buttery Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Orange Honey, ½ tsp. Sage Finishing Sea Salt, ¼ tsp. Lemon Tellicherry Pepper. Halve pumpkin, scoop out stringy pulp and seeds (reserve to roast another time). Cut into ¾” strips, peel, cut into ¾” pieces (4 cups). Toss evenly to coat in bowl. Arrange cubes in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. Return cubes to bowl.
Macerate (soften) cranberries: Place cranberries and Vertex red wine in a small saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes, just until cranberries are tender. Drain cranberries, reserve liquid. Return liquid to the pan; reduce to 2 Tbsp. (for vinaigrette).
Vinaigrette Part 2: To the reduction from Part 1, whisk in the reduced cranberry-wine liquid, Dijon mustard, ½ tsp. Sage Finishing Sea Salt, ¼ tsp. Lemon Tellicherry Pepper, and Blood Orange Olive Oil. Keep vinaigrette warm. Vinaigrette yield: ¾ cup.
Add 1 Tbsp. Buttery Extra Virgin Olive to the roasted pumpkin cubes and season to taste with ½ tsp. Sage Finishing Sea Salt and ¼ tsp. Lemon Tellicherry Pepper. Gently mix.

TO SERVE

Divide the greens evenly on individual salad plates and fan 5 apple slices in the center of each. Arrange ⅓ cup roasted pumpkin cubes over each salad followed by the cranberries, pomegranate arils, and Olive Oil Spiced Pumpkin Seeds. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. warm vinaigrette over each salad, finish with feta cheese and pinch of Chardonnay Finishing Sea Salt on the apple slices.