John This is a great side dish or salad to serve with any BBQ or weeknight dinner. It’s very versatile.
The quinoa provides a substantial base when combined with a sweet roasted butternut pumpkin. Dried cranberries and bacon add a nice crunch to each mouthful. Topped with feta to add a creamy and salty tang. Finished off with a maple mustard vinaigrette to beautifully augment the other flavours and this is fantastic salad that you can have all year round.
The great versatility of this dish is that you can serve it warm, at room temperature or cold. It is very tasty whichever way you serve it.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
| Passive Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup Quinoa uncooked
- 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
- 1/2 cup Feta Cheese diced
- 4 slices Short Cut Bacon diced
Maple Mustard Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil extra virgin
- 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup use pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- Black Pepper to season
Roasted Butternut Pumpkin
- 3 cups Roasted Butternut Pumpkin cut into small cubes
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup use pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Ingredients
Salad
Maple Mustard Vinaigrette
Roasted Butternut Pumpkin
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Instructions
Maple Mustard Vinaigrette
- In a small jug or jar, add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard and pepper. If in a jug, stir to combine well. If using a jar, put on lid and shake until all ingredients are combined. Set aside.
Roasted Butternut Pumpkin
- Preheat oven to 200°C (fan forced)
- Place 3 cups butternut pumpkin cubes onto a large baking tray.
- In a small bowl, add olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. Stir until well combined.
- Pour over the butternut pumpkin cubes and using your hands spread across the pumpkin to ensure it is well coated with the mixture.
- Spread the pumpkin out across the baking tray and place into the oven.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes or until pumpkin is cooked through. Stir the pumpkin about half way through. Note: the pumpkin will be cooked when a skewer goes in easily and comes straight out. Try not to over cook as pumpkin may become too soft.
- Once cooked set aside to cool before adding into salad.
Salad
- In a frying pan, add diced bacon and cook until nice and crispy (about 6 minutes or so). Set aside to cool slightly
- Cook quinoa as per packet directions. This will take about 15 minutes once water is boiling.
- Once quinoa is cooked, drain the water and set aside to cool.
- After the quinoa has cooled sufficiently, though slightly warm is OK, place quinoa in your salad serving bowl.
- Add roasted butternut pumpkin (now cooled), and mix through.
- Add cranberries, feta and bacon and stir to mix through.
- Serve when ready, or store in refrigerator until ready to eat.
