Warm quinoa, roast pumpkin, avocado and haloumi salad with sprouts

Tamara West

This tasty, hearty quinoa salad can be eaten warm or cold

Roast pumpkin

500 g	Pumpkin, peeled, cut into 2-3cm chunks (Main)
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
2 Tbsp	Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp	Runny honey

Quinoa salad

1 cup	Red quinoa
1 ½ cups	Vegetable stock, or chicken stock, or water
⅓ cup	Olives, chopped (green or kalamata)
8	Dates, (preferably medjool dates), chopped
1	Avocado, firm, ripe, sliced
1 punnet	Cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped, or coriander
½ cup	Mint leaves, sliced
1	Lemon, juice
1 splash	Extra virgin olive oil

To serve

150 g	Haloumi cheese, sliced 5cm thick
3 handfuls	Sango sprouts, or any sprouts

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
2. Toss pumpkin with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey in prepared tray.
3. Roast until slightly caramelised, 20-25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine quinoa and stock/water (with a pinch of salt) in a medium-size pot and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils, cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce to lowest heat to cook for 15 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and leave to steam, still covered, for 10 minutes.
6. Fluff up quinoa grains with a fork and toss with roast pumpkin and remaining quinoa salad ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan on medium heat and cook haloumi slices for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown, and melted on the inside.
8. To serve:Divide quinoa salad between bowls and top with slices of cooked haloumi and a small handful of sprouts.

Tp: Quinoa is a high-protein grain-like crop, that is actually not a grain but a seed and thus is gluten-free. You could use bulghur wheat instead of the quinoa and a sprinkling of nuts or seeds such as almonds, pumpkin or sunflower seeds wouldn’t go amiss either.