Colorful Pumpkin, Red Pepper & Quinoa Salad
It’s time to introduce an “autumn touch” with a tasty, healthy and colorful quinoa salad with pumpkin and red pepper as basic ingredients.
Pumpkin is the autumn vegetable par excellence and can be easily combined with all kinds of other vegetables.
Red bell pepper in the oven takes on a wonderfully sweet and full taste. And the Ras el Hanout seasoning gives the veggies a spicy special touch.
We like to eat quinoa but in moderation because, in addition to many good nutrients, it also contains a number of antinutrients such as saponins and phytic acid.
But if you rinse the quinoa well under running water, you will already wash away a large part of the antinutrients, especially the saponins. These taste bitter, so your quinoa will be bitter if you don’t wash it.
The star of this dish is the PUMPKIN, which is not only tasty, but also very healthy.
It contains a lot of vitamin C and beta-carotene, the precursor of Vitamin A. Very good for your eyes, skin and hair. In addition, it contains numerous antioxidants that protect you against cancer, cardiovascular disease, etc.
This fiber-rich vegetable helps to promote digestion and stabilize your blood sugar. Both fundamental to good health.
You can prepare the quinoa and vegetables in advance and finish the salad later. This way you can easily work in advance.
25 min
4
Ingredients
– 400 gr pumpkin (without the skin) cut into 1 cm cubes
– 1 red pepper in small pieces
– 1 pear in small pieces
– handful of arugula, sliced
– 1/2 large tomato in small pieces
– 120 gr quinoa
– handful of fresh basil (optional)
– 2 teaspoons ras el hanout
– olive oil, salt & pepper
Preparation
- Heat the oven to 180ºC
- Place the pumpkin and red pepper on a baking tray greased with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and Ras el Hanout (sprinkle it generously over the vegetables)
- Let the vegetables cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Rinse the quinoa well under running water and pour it in a small cooking pot.
- Add a similar volume of water; season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add a dash of olive oil.
- Let the quinoa boil for a minute over high heat; then lower the heat and cover with a lid.
- When the quinoa is cooked (approx. after 10 min), remove the lid and let it “dry out”over low heat.
- Pour a dash of olive oil over it, add the finely chopped fresh basil, season a little more with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Let everything cool down a bit; then mix the quinoa with the pumpkin, red pepper, pieces of pear, arugula and tomato. Add a good dash of olive oil and you’re done!
ENJOY!!