Vegan

Superfood winter salad recipe

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Salads don’t just have to be for summer! Our superfood winter salad is perfect for when the days turn chilly. Sustaining as it is nourishing, it’s sure to fuel you through wintry afternoons.

Butternut squash is a versatile ingredient and ideal for incorporating into our diet, especially during autumn and winter. It’s high in a number of important vitamins and minerals – including vitamins A and C. Both of these vitamins have a supportive role in helping our immune system to function properly. They also help to mop up damaging free radicals that our cells produce as a natural part of metabolism.

Once the quinoa is cooked, add a gut-friendly twist with a splash of kombucha. Bringing a zing of flavour, it’s also an easy way to top up on good gut bugs known as probiotics. A wellbeing win!

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Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash, halved, peeled and de-seeded
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  • 180g quinoa
  • 2-3 tsp apple cider vinegar or kombucha
  • 200g baby leaf spinach
  • 1kg cooked fresh beetroot, roughly chopped
  • 3 tsp pumpkin seeds
  • 25g pecan nuts
  • Sea salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Put the squash into a roasting tin, add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and add the cinnamon. Using your hands, toss everything together. Put in the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes or until golden and tender. Remove and put to one side.
  2. While the squash is cooking, put the quinoa into a large-lidded pan, cover with water so it sits halfway above the grains and season with salt. Cook on a low heat with the lid on for about 20 minutes. If it starts to dry out too much, top up with a little hot water. Remove from the heat, leaving the lid on and put to one side for ten minutes.
  3. Tip the quinoa into a large bowl, fluff up with a fork and add the apple cider vinegar or kombucha, season well and stir to combine. Stir in half the spinach, then transfer to a large shallow platter and top with the butternut squash, the remaining spinach and the beetroot. Scatter over the pumpkin seeds and nuts, then serve.