Roasted Pumpkin Quinoa Salad

This hearty Roasted Pumpkin Quinoa Salad is packed with flavor from sweet caramelized pumpkin, lime, and chili. Yum!

Once roasted, butternut pumpkin becomes sweeter, tender, and almost caramelized on the edges. Paired with lime zest and juice, as well as chili it is an amazing combination.

Recipe

Ingredients

• ¾ cup white quinoa
• ¾ cup water
• 1 butternut pumpkin medium, aka butternut squash
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• 1 ½ cups mint and parsley leaves roughly torn
• 1 red chili pepper deseeded and finely chopped
• zest and juice of 2 limes
• extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

• Rinse the quinoa well under cold running water. Drain and place in a saucepan and cover with the water. If any quinoa has stuck to the sides of the saucepan use a pastry brush to brush it into the water. Place the saucepan over a high heat and bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to low. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until tender. I find the cooking times on Australian organic quinoa to pretty much always be 12 minutes on my stove top. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave, covered, while the pumpkin is roasting.
• Preheat the oven to 200 celsius (400 Fahrenheit). Peel and deseed the butternut pumpkin and cut into bite sized cubes. You can leave the pumpkin pieces larger if you prefer, however you will need to adjust the cooking time. Place the pumpkin on a large tray and toss with enough olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until tender and slightly caramelised on the edges. Remove the pan from the oven and leave to cool.
• Place a small frying pan over a low heat and add the sunflower seeds and toast, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool.
• Fluff up the quinoa with a fork, season to taste, and place on a large serving plate. Top with the parsley and mint leaves, or whatever salad greens you like. Place the pumpkin on top, sprinkle over the chili, sunflower seeds. Finally, grate the lime over the top and finish with the juice of the limes and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Nutrition