serves
cooks in
50mins
difficulty
one
This delicious seasonal Roasted Pumpkin salad with red quinoa and a divine mint tahini dressing is the creation of my friend Nealy Fisher, founder of The Flexible Chef.
In Nealy’s words, this salad is protein and carb-rich, visually appealing, slightly mysterious, and, more importantly, really tasty. The cold, crunchy quinoa base is topped with warm caramelized pumpkin and finished with a smooth green tahini dressing.
Enjoy!
The Ingredients
Tahini Dressing
- ½ cup tahini
- ⅓ cup water
- Lemon juice to taste
- 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 20 mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Roasted Pumpkin
- 1 medium sized pumpkin, thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- A drizzle of maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Salt and pepper
Quinoa Crunch
- 1 cup red quinoa
- ½ cup scallions
- 1 cup finely chopped kale
- ½ cup herbs: mint, parsley, and cilantro
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Lemon juice squeezed to taste
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- 2 tablespoons walnuts or pecans, toasted
- Salt and pepper
Method
Tahini Dressing
- Pulse above ingredients in a food processor.
- Add water to achieve desired consistency. Can be made one day ahead if you omit the mint and add fresh.
Roasted Pumpkin
- Wash and peel pumpkin. Cut pumpkin in half lengthwise.
- Turn face down and slice into ½ inch slices that resemble half moons.
- Place on baking sheet with dressing and roast uncovered at 400°F until caramelized, 30-40 minutes.
Quinoa Crunch
- Cook quinoa with one cup of water. Allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to fridge.
- Ideally cook quinoa in advance to allow it to chill fully.
- In a medium bowl combine scallions, kale, herbs, honey, olive oil, lemon juice, nuts. Add cooled quinoa.
- To assemble, arrange quinoa on appetizer plate. Arrange roasted pumpkin on top. Drizzle with tahini dressing, sprinkle additional nuts and enjoy.
