Autumn Pumpkin Quinoa Salad with Feta and Pomegranate

A autumnal meal-prep salad made with roasted Hokkaido pumpkin, quinoa and feta, finished with crunchy walnuts, pomegranate seeds and a maple apple cider vinegar dressing with cumin. It tastes good cold from the fridge and keeps for three to four days.

By yumbelo · 4 servings · 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 800 g Hokkaido pumpkin
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• salt
• pepper
• 250 g quinoa
• 500 ml water
• 1 pc red onion
• 200 g feta
• 80 g walnut halves
• 1 pc pomegranate
• 150 g baby spinach
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 pc lemon (juice)
• 1 bunch parsley

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C top and bottom heat. Wash the pumpkin, halve it, remove the seeds and cut it into wedges or cubes of about 2 cm, leaving the skin on.
2. Toss the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet lined with baking paper with 2 tbsp olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper, and roast for about 25 minutes until golden brown, turning once.
3. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly under cold water in a sieve. Bring to a boil with 500 ml water and a pinch of salt, then simmer covered over low heat for about 15 minutes until the water is absorbed, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
4. Finely dice the onion and sauté it in 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat until translucent. Toast the walnut halves briefly in a dry pan until fragrant, then chop coarsely.
5. For the dressing, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, the juice of the lemon, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl until well combined.
6. Mix the quinoa with the cooled pumpkin pieces, the onions and the dressing, and let it cool completely.
7. Crumble the feta, remove the pomegranate seeds and finely chop the parsley. Gently fold the spinach into the salad shortly before eating.
8. Sprinkle the salad with feta, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and parsley. For meal prep, store in airtight containers in the fridge and eat within three to four days.