You know when sometimes you just don’t know what to have for dinner? Well this is how this dish came about. Rooting around in the cupboard and staring blankly into my empty fridge I found half a leftover pumpkin. I decided to roast it. The scrunched up bag of quinoa at the back of the cupboard was next on the hit list. A few store cupboard ingredients later and I managed to rustle up a tasty winter salad from the ingredients I didn’t even realise I had. And it was super delicious and so pretty! Sometimes empty fridges make the best dinners!

Ingredients

½        A small pumpkin (sweet potato or squash would work too)

½       A pomegranate

100g   Quinoa

A bag of salad leaves

A handful of sundried tomatoes

A handful of broccoli

Tahini Dressing

2tbsp  Tahini

1 ½     Lemons (juiced)

A glug of Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method – Serves 2

1. Peel and roast the pumpkin with a little olive oil until soft.
2. Boil the quinoa until softened approx. 10 minutes then drain and set aside.
3. Steam the broccoli and once ready transfer into a bowl of cold water to retain the colour.
4. Make the tahini dip by putting the dressing ingredients into a bowl and using a balloon whisk to mix. Depending on the consistency you might need to add a little water to thin it out. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.
5. When the pumpkin is ready add the drained quinoa to the roasting dish and mix. It should stick nicely to the pumpkin.
6. Now assemble your salad. Put your salad leaves on the bottom followed by the quinoa pumpkin, sundried tomatoes and broccoli. Finally sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and a generous drizzling of tahini dressing.

NB* Don’t feel you have to use the same ingredients. Why not see what delicious salad you can make with the ingredients you already have. I would love to see your creations!