I had made this Pumpkin Quinoa Salad for Noah’s birthday party with the family, back in October. That weekend, we (again) had the most beautiful weather and were sitting outside all afternoon. I always make food, that can easily be prepared or made beforehand and that will feed a crowd. The kids had hotdogs (always a winner) and for the adults, I had made a large Shepherd’s Pie and this lovely, seasonal salad.

Rave reviews

The salad got rave reviews from everyone. There’s sweet roasted pumpkin, flavorful quinoa (cooked in chicken or vegetable stock), spinach leaves and salty feta, all mixed with a simple dressing. When we planned a get together with the family for Sinterklaas, where everyone would bring food, this salad was requested. And once again, everyone loved it. So it was about time that I sat down and write the recipe to share with you all.

Simple and delicious

It really is a very simple recipe. Roasting the pumpkin takes up most of the time, the rest is just assembling. Now for the quinoa, I always use chicken or vegetable stock to cook it in. I also do that when I prepare couscous and sometimes when I cook rice. As the quinoa, just as couscous and rice, absorb a lot of liquid, it absorbs the taste of the stock as well. What you get, is very flavorful quinoa that doesn’t need any other spices to be tasty. It’s tasty all in itself.

Ingredients

500 g pumpkin (about half a butternut pumpkin)

1 tbsp olive oil

salt/pepper

150 g uncooked quinoa

2 shallots

200 g fresh spinach

200 g feta cheese

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp vinegar

1/2 tsp liquid sweetener*

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Optional: 50 g chopped walnuts

*Can be swapped for 1 tsp sugar.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Cut the pumpkin in equal parts.

Put the pumpkin in a bowl and add salt, pepper and olive oil. Toss to coat.

Spread out pumpkin on the prepared baking tray and roast ca. 30-40 minutes.

Take out and let cool.

Prepare the quinoa according to instructions on the packaging. Instead of water, I use chicken or vegetable stock for flavor.

Drain the quinoa and set aside to cool.

For the dressing, mix together oil, vinegar, liquid sweetener, salt and pepper. If you’d like, you could also add some fresh or dried herbs, such as parsley, basil or chives.

Thinly slice the shallots and add to the dressing.

To assemble, put the quinoa and spinach in a large bowl and toss with the dressing.

Add the roasted pumpkin and half of the feta cheese and gently fold it in.

Crumble the rest of the feta on top.

Optional: sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.

This salad is a perfect side (f.e. with a stew) or simply eat it as a meal with fresh bread.

Enjoy!