If there is any season that calls for cozy, roasted food, it is fall! That comforting flavor of softly roasted pumpkin in combination with the freshness of the Orange and the crunch of the red cabbage with pomegranate seeds is just unique. A perfect balance of fall comfort for those cloudy days while still keeping some freshness! A very, very underrated combination that you definitely NEED to try!
What is special about this dish?
It is not quite a salad, neither is it really a bowl. It is something inbetween – something really tasty though. What is more, it actually is super simple to make and does not take long. And what is really soecial is the combination of orange and pumpkin. Normally you would probably not combine these two but surprisingly they do taste really good in combination!
In addition to that, we are using the new NENI cabbage with pomegranate seeds in this bowl with just is the dot on the I. This addition adds a lot of flavour, nutrients and crunch while it does not take any additional work or preparation because we can just get it from the supermarket.
Is this dish healthy?
Definitely! This bowl is a bowl full of goodies for you! Where should we start? With the base maybe: the quinoa is loaded with nutrients. In here we have got some protein, fibre, amino acids, vitamins, and and and. You can read more about why quinoa si so healthy in my January Top 5! The rest of the base is spinach or another salad, which not only makes you feel full but also is a great source of vitamins, fibre and water!
The rest of the bowl also has some decent nutritional value: the pumpkin has a solid amount of fibre to keep you full for long as well as several vitamins, including Vitamin A, C, E and Iron, which have shown to improve the immune system. This is great for the colder months ahead of us! In the dressing we can find more vitamin C from the orange, which also will keep your immune system healthy. The pumpkin seeds to top it off are a great source of healthy fats, which are essential for several functions in your body including your brain to work properly.
isn‘t red cabbage a lot of work?
It definitely is more work than just chopping cucumbers. However, we want to keep this dish as simple, easy and quick as possible so we are taking the easy and delicious way out! How? With enjoy by NENI Red Cabbage! You can find it at SPAR in Austria! It is pre-made and ready to eat! I love it in this dish, however you can really add it to everything you like, have it as a salad or a side! It is super tasty, not expensive and a great quick solution to making red cabbage!
How to make this dish?
What is so great about this recipe is that it really does not take long to make. It is best if we start by preparing quinoa and pumpkin since this is what takes the longest to make. The quinoa just needs to be brought to a boil with water and salt and then reduced to a simmer. The pumpkin on the other hand, needs to be cut into about 1cm thick slices and we also need to remove the seeds. The reason for why we cut it into about 1cm thick slices is that those do not take this long to cook! If you prefer otherwise you could also cut them into cubes or half circles or any other shape of your preference! The pumpkin now is tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs before it can be fried in a pan. Here we do not need any additional oil since the pumpkin has been marinated in olive oil anyway.
While this is cooking, we can start making the dressing for which we just combine some orange juice, olive oil, and vinegar and prepare the remaining ingredients for the bowl. For the yoghurt dip, we can solely combine some greek yoghurt, sour cream and parsley, we can prepare the pomegranate and take the red cabbage out of the fridge. Once the pumpkin and quinoa is done cooking, we can already assemble everything and enjoy it!
Ideal for mealprep!
This salad is great for meal prep! When you keep it in the fridge, it soaks up the flavours of the dressing even more and gets even more delicious! It kind of turns into a tabouleh, which tastes amazing! You can take it to work, to school or uni and it‘ll still taste great after 2-3 days! Plus, you do not need to heat it up!
Quick Roasted Delicata Squash & Quinoa Salad with enjoy by NENI Red Cabbage
a bowl full of fall goodness, and definitely not your average salad! the combination of warm roasted pumpkin and fresh orange quinoa along with crunchy red cabbage will not only keep you full for long but also satisfied and happy!
What you will need
For the pumpkin:
- 1 medium sized delicata squash (about 400g)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp mediterranean dried herbs or oregano
- salt & pepper
For the rest:
- 120 g Quinoa
- 2-3 handful spinach or other salad
- 50 g sour cream
- 50 g greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 50 ml orange juice (from about 1/2 orange if you are using fresh one)
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 package enjoy by NENI Rotkrautsalat mit Granatapfelkerne (red cabbage)
- pomegranate & pumpkin seeds
How to
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Start by adding the quinoa to a pot along with a pinch of salt and twice the amount of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let simmer on medium heat until the liquid is absorbed. Turn down to low heat and let sit for another 5ish minutes until the quinoa is light and fluffy.
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In the meantime cut the delicata squash into about 1cm thick rings and remove the seeds. You can leave the skin on if you wash the pumpkin before. Add it to a bowl along with the olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs. Then fry in a pan on medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and soft.
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In the meantime mix the olive oil, white wine vinegar and orange juice and toss it with the quinoa and spinach.
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In another bowl combine the greek yoghurt, sour cream, parsley and a little salt to make the dip.
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Once the pumpkin is finished, divide the quinoa-spinach mix onto bowls, top with the pumpkin, the dip, fresh pomegranate and pumpkin seeds and enjoy!
I genuinely hope that you will enjoy this recipe as much as we do and have an amazing time cooking!
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière
