What’s In a Salad?
When we think of salad, lettuce usually comes to mind first. But, as I have discussed earlier on Cocoa & Lavender, when I did a series of Moroccan Cooked Salads, lettuce often has no place on the table in Morocco. Moroccan cooked vegetable salads seem more like side dishes to us, but are generally served before the meal and shared around the table. Much of the time, they are cooked vegetables but occasionally they are raw.
When we were in Rabat, we searched for restaurants “near us” on the map that might be good for dinner, and landed on one that looked promising. In the end, it was as much theater as it was dining, but we enjoyed ourselves and had a great meal. Our server, Naoufal, was quite chatty (seriously, way too chatty, yet delightful); he brought out a special salad for us toward the end of the meal. It was a pumpkin salad covered with sesame seeds and topped with walnuts and rose petals. It was exceptional, and truly the best part of the meal. We correctly guessed the ingredients (he confirmed), and today I share with you my version.
~ David
Moroccan Pumpkin Salad
To steam the squash, cut a 4-pound red Kuri squash in half from top to bottom. (You can use a pie pumpkin or butternut if you cannot find red kuri.) Cut each half into 5 or 6 wedges. Steam half the wedges for 25-30 minutes (until extremely soft) then let cool on a cutting board while you steam the remaining squash. When cool enough to handle, peel half the wedges and weigh the flesh; you want about 1 pound of cooked pumpkin. Package the remaining squash and freeze for another use (for ideas for extra squash see: Ravioli di Zucca, Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Gorgonzola and Fried Sage, or Pumpkin Risotto).
Mash the cooked squash into a nonstick pan and cook the mash, stirring, for five minutes over medium heat to get rid of any excess moisture. Add the butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook 10 minutes longer until color is slightly intensified. Add honey and rosewater, and mix well. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.
Mold onto a plate (I used a 5-inch ring mold), sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds, then top with toasted walnuts and rose petals. Alternatively, it can simply be mounded on a plate and garnished, as above.
Serves 6, when served with additional salads (see first paragraph).
Note: you can use any variety of winter squash, though ones with lower moisture are best. Sugar pumpkin and butternut squash are good examples.
Out to dinner … with the restaurant’s African Grey Parrot.
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Mad Dog
February 28, 2026 at 5:01 amThat looks beautiful and amazing!
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:33 amThanks, Mad Dog — much apprecaited.
angiesrecipes
February 28, 2026 at 6:00 amThat’s a fun picture of you and the parrot 🙂
The salad looks great! And you know what? I have EVERYTHING for this treat :-))
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:32 amWHile I was a bit skeptical about Gray (the parrot), I must admit it was fun and I am glad to have the photo. Konwing your adventurous palate, I think you would love this salad, Angie!
Carolyne
February 28, 2026 at 7:35 amI love squash and your combination with seeds and walnuts 😋 Thanks for sharing some photos of your trip.
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:31 amI am glad you enjoyed the photos, Carolyne. This pumpkin salad is really good. People have been tentative when they spoon themselves some but, once they tasted it, they were all in!
Barb
February 28, 2026 at 7:57 amLike you, I would consider this a side dish, but it is gorgeous no matter how it is categorized! I really like the photo of you and the parrot!
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:30 amThank you, Barb — it was a lovely surprise as a salad. The waiter (the one I mentioned) insisted that the parrot (named Gray) be put on my shoulder. I hope I didn’t look too anxious!
Gerlinde de Broekert
February 28, 2026 at 7:58 amDavid, this is such a happy photo of you. I always enjoy reading your posts. Pumpkins are such versatile vegetables. Your recipe looks great. In Germany, pumpkins get pickled in a sweet and sour sauce.
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:26 amThanks, Gerlinde — so glad you enjoy reading these posts. I love the idea of the German pickled pumpkin!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
February 28, 2026 at 8:09 amThis does sound like an amazing salad with so many textures and flavors.
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:26 amIt is fun, Karen, when each bite contains the pumpkin, seeds, and walnuts. Thanks!
Valentina
February 28, 2026 at 8:26 amAbsolutely stunning, David. Kuri squash is one of my favorites, and this would turn heads at a dinner party. Beautiful! And I’m sure the flavor is as delicious as its beauty. 🙂~ Valentina
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:25 amThanks, Valentina. I think you know that you are the person who introduced me to kuri squash. Do you remember? It hadn’t yet come to Tucson but now is readily available! So thank you also for that intro.
Fran @ G'day Souffle'
February 28, 2026 at 8:32 amYum! With my sweet tooth, I could see this developing into a filling wrapped in a little puff pastry and drizzled with a little syrup! (Uh oh, hope my lateral thinking didn’t go too far)!
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:24 amWell, I assure you that it is good as is, but your plan sounds fun.
Mimi Rippee
February 28, 2026 at 9:16 amAwww, great photo! This sounds so unique and delicious!!! And pretty! I’ve never used a Kuri squash – remember I live in Oklahoma…. 🙄
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 9:23 amThanks, Mimi — aw, I know… getting things in OK is tough. Next year when they are in season I will ship you one. Great flavor, color!
Jill W Becker
February 28, 2026 at 10:17 amThanks for continuing to share your travels and palate. We love butternut squash and pumpkin – must try this.
David Scott Allen
February 28, 2026 at 10:29 amThat is a good note for this, Jill – butternut squash would also work for this recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
Eha Carr
February 28, 2026 at 2:15 pmLove the sound of this with rose water, honey and sesame seeds – in northern Europe we eat a LOT of pumpkin salads but this has a totally different ‘feel’ to it. And – I most certainly do not think of the ‘green stuff’ when one mentions the word ‘salad’ 🙂 ! – I mean > potatoes, pasta, cabbage, cauliflower, mushroom, carrot, cucumber, my favourite > beetroot, ham, herring, anchovy, eel etc et al > all wonderful salads . . . lettuce almost comes last in my book 🙂 ! Oh – love your photo . . . parrots can be such a hoot !
David Scott Allen
March 1, 2026 at 7:31 amThe parrot was a hoot, and quite talkative. He got rather jealous of the attention we were getting as guests and pitched a fit!
Salad here in the US usually means green salad and, when we travel, we find it difficult to find a good green salad in some countries.
FEL!X
February 28, 2026 at 6:56 pmI know a pumpkin-potato salad – both smashed, mixed with a basil & yoghurt french dressing and pink peppercorns.
Your moroccan version sounds also tasty and flavourful!
David Scott Allen
March 1, 2026 at 7:30 amThanks, Felix. This salad is definitely unique among all the others.
Sherry
March 1, 2026 at 3:50 amwhat a glorious plate it sits on David. I like the sound of this marvellous salad!
sherry
David Scott Allen
March 1, 2026 at 7:29 amThanks, Sherry — glad you like the salad. The plate is a beauty — perfect for this salad!
Raymund
March 1, 2026 at 3:25 pmI love how you open this post by gently poking at our default idea of what a “salad” should be, it’s such a fun reminder that in Morocco, the word stretches far beyond greens, and this pumpkin version proves exactly why. And that is a thing of beauty
David Scott Allen
March 4, 2026 at 7:50 amThanks so much, Raymund!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
March 2, 2026 at 5:39 pmDavid, this Moroccan pumpkin salad looks so vibrant and flavourful. I love the mix of warm spices with the tender squash and bright accents. Such a beautiful, seasonal dish.
David Scott Allen
March 4, 2026 at 7:48 amThanks, Ben — the flavors are really different from anything else I have had, though rose water did appear in several desserts in Morocco.
Jeff the Chef | Mak
March 3, 2026 at 7:37 pmThis is spectacular! And on that plate, it’s magical.
David Scott Allen
March 4, 2026 at 7:47 amThanks, Jeff. That plate gets a lot of showtime in my kitchen. 🙂
Pauline
March 4, 2026 at 3:11 amDavid, I’ve just hunted down your recipe on my email because I saw it on instagram and loved it, and I’ve been busy planning our next holiday, but here I am at last. Wow what an amazing dish. So good I can use butternut pumpkin for this, I would avoid the sesame seeds, unfortunately, but otherwise it looks amazing. What dishes do you serve it with? Moroccan of course. Your presentation and that gorgeous plate are so effective. Thanks so much for sharing this David.
David Scott Allen
March 4, 2026 at 7:44 amThank you so much, Pauline — glad you found it! Yes, avoiding the sesame seeds is perfectly fine. The crunch of the walnuts is nice, though. When I served it this past week, I had six salads on the table in Moroccan style: beetroot, cucumber, loubia (white bean/tomato), carrot, green bean/potato, and pumpkin. They were served all around the table outside before coming in for dinner, which was my chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon. Dessert was sliced oranges with orange flower water and cinnamon sprinkled overtop. I am sure you are very excited about your trip!
2pots2cook
March 4, 2026 at 4:56 amBeautiful photos David! This salad is so inviting!
David Scott Allen
March 4, 2026 at 7:45 amThanks, Davorka.
Christina
March 6, 2026 at 11:46 pmI’m surprised you didn’t mention “salads” that contain apples and Snickers bars, or all the jello and “fluff salads”–ugh. This salad is so unique and I would love to try it! Thanks for sharing the recipe, David!
David Scott Allen
March 9, 2026 at 11:13 amI have a friend from Iowa who talks of Strawberry Pretzel Salad. No, no, and no. Or, as Lingini in Ratatouille says, “Nopety, nope, nope, nope.”