Roasted pumpkin, quinoa, kale and feta salad
Serves 4 as a main and 6 as a side
Ingredients
For the pumpkin:
- 500 g Japanese or Kent pumpkin chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon (20ml) oil of choice
- 2 teaspoons tajin (optional)
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Seasoning to taste (use less if you used tajin as it contains salt already)
For the quinoa:
- 1 tablespoon (20ml) oil of choice
- 25g (1/2 bunch) of spring onion greens chopped (remainder used in salad)
- 3/4 cup (150g) quinoa
- 430- 500 ml (1 3/4 – 2 cups) FODMAP friendly vegetable stock (you can also use water)
For the salad dressing:
- 3 tablespoons (60ml) garlic infused oil
- 1 1/2 -2 tablespoons (30-40ml) lemon juice
- 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons hot honey (see notes) regular honey or maple syrup
- 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (see notes)
- Seasoning to taste
- Extra lemon juice to finish the salad
For the salad:
- 25g (remaining 1/2 bunch) of spring onion greens chopped
- 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley washed and finely chopped
- 100 g Tuscan kale weighed after de-stemming 1/2 – 1 bunch
- 180-200 g feta crumbled (Danish or regular are fine)
- 75 g almonds use more if you don’t need it to be FODMAP
- 75 g raisins use more if you don’t need it to be FODMAP
Instructions
To bake the pumpkin:
- Preheat the oven to 180C or 356F. Drain, rinse and thoroughly dry the canned chickpeas. Add the oil, tajin and cinnamon to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the pumpkin and toss thoroughly to coat. Transfer the pumpkin to a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through but still firm enough to withstand being tossed in a salad. The cooking time will depend on how small your cubes are, so keep an eye on it.
To cook the quinoa:
- Add the oil to a medium pot over a medium heat. Once warmed, add the spring onion and cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the quinoa and toast it for a couple of minutes, stirring to prevent it burning or sticking. Add the stock (it will spit, so be careful) and stir to combine. Cook the quinoa for 7 or so minutes, or until the grains unfurl. Ideally, the liquid should all have evaporated and there should be small holes in the surface of the quinoa. That’s OK if not – just drain off the excess liquid. Set quinoa aside and intermittently fluff with a fork.
To finish:
- Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a clean jar and shake to emulsify. Taste and adjust according to your preferences and how sour your lemon is.
- Add the spring onion greens, chopped parsley and kale to the base of a large serving plate (or a large mixing bowl). Pour over half the dressing and use your hands to massage the dressing into the greens. After a minute or two they will soften.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the salad, finishing with the pumpkin (it’s fragile!). Add the remaining dressing and gently toss to combine. Finish with lemon juice, salt and pepper to your tastes.
- Keeps well in the fridge for a number of days.
Notes
- See notes in the body of the post for FODMAP and non-FODMAP adjustments.
- If you don't have tajin (a chilli and salt mix with citric acid for a limey like tang) then you can simply omit it. I highly recommend buying some though - it is delicious.
- The amount of dressing you'll need varies. I generally make a lesser amount and then finish the salad with liberal lemon juice and seasoning, but the choice is yours. Start by using the lesser quantities of honey, lemon juice and dijon and adjust to your taste.
- I have added 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg for a festively spiced dressing.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!