Roast Pumpkin and Warm Quinoa Salad
This warm roast pumpkin and quinoa salad is perfect for autumn and winter, when your body naturally craves something more grounding and nourishing.
It’s packed with fibre, plant diversity, and gut-loving nutrients to support digestion, energy, and overall health.
Simple, satisfying, and easy to prepare, it’s the kind of meal that leaves you feeling full, warm, and genuinely good afterwards.
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
400g tinned lentils
100gm pumpkin
1/4 red onion
50g baby spinach
1 garlic clove
2 tbs pomegranate seeds (could use dried cranberries if you can't get your hands on pomegranate)
2 cups water
2 tbs pumpkin seeds
Feta to garnish - optional
Method
Cook the quinoa on a stovetop with water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium and keep the lid off. When the water level reduces down, place the lid on and turn the heat off - leave for 10 minutes covered and then fluff with a fork.
Crush the garlic clove and add to the quinoa pot so the residual heat can cook the garlic a little. Drain and rinse the lentils and set aside on a paper towel to let the water drain completely. Once set aside for 10 minutes, add to the quinoa and mix together.
Cut the pumpkin into cubes and bake on a baking tray for 25 minutes with a little olive oil.
Cut the baby spinach leaves and slice the red onion. Time to assemble the salad - lay the base of the quinoa and lentils, then add chopped baby spinach, sliced red onion. baked pumpkin, pomegranate and pumpkin seeds.
For the sauce: you can use a vinaigrette with 1 part dijon mustard: 1 part vinegar: 2 parts extra virgin olive oil, mix well until combined.
