Pumpkin, Lentils and Quinoa Salad

This chile pepper gets its name from its origin. In Spanish, serrano is an adjective meaning “from the mountains” which is where it originated-in the mountains of Hildalgo, Mexico. The serrano is normally about twice as hot as Jalapeno (about 10,000 to 15,000 Scoville units). It is the second most popular chile pepper in Mexico. This chile is used mostly for salsas but can also be used in soups, sauces, chili or stews. Try these as a hotter substitute for Jalapeno.

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Ingredients:

1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled & deseeded
3 -4 garlic cloves, skin on
1/2 fresh chile, sliced
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup boiling water
14 oz canned lentils
1 tsp cumin powder
olive oil
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt to taste
fresh coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel and deseed 1/2 a pumpkin. Dice into 2.5cm (1 inch) cubes and place them on parchment paper lined baking tray as well as garlic cloves and chile. Drizzle over some olive oil, cumin powder and salt and toss all the ingredients until well combined. Then bake them in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the pumpkin feels tender and fluffy when pricked with a fork.

While the pumpkin is roasting in the oven, pour 1/2 cup of quinoa and 1 cup of hot boiling water in a medium sized pot. Start cooking over medium high flame until it starts to boil. Then let it simmer by reducing to low-medium flame and cover with a lid. In the meantime, rinse and drain the lentils. Set aside.

For the quinoa, cook until the water is ALMOST absorbed. When there’s just a little water left at the bottom of the pot (I’ll say about 2 tbsps worth of water left), turn off the flame and leave the lid on. This will allow the quinoa to completely absorb the water without sticking to the pot. Fork through the quinoa so that it’s light and fluffy. Set aside. Add lentils to the quinoa and toss gently until well combined. Season lightly with salt.Add roasted pumpkin, garlic (skin-off and thinly chopped) and chile to the lentil-quinoa mixture. Drizzle some olive oil and lemon juice over the salad and toss to mix. Just before serving, garnish with some coriander/cilantro leaves. You can serve this salad warm or cold.

Serves 3.

From fussfreecooking.com