Broccoli salad with sweet roasted pumpkin

Packed full of nutritious ingredients, this colourful broccoli salad will satisfy both your tastebuds and appetite.  With an abundance of antioxidant rich vegetables such as pumpkin, broccoli, spinach and red capsicum, the antioxidants in these vegetables provide many protective benefits.  Combined with protein from the chickpeas and pepitas, as well as good fats from the pepitas and extra virgin olive oil, this salad is packed with nutrition.  It’s not all about nutrition though, for taste is also paramount, and this salad delivers both.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 2-3 (appetite dependent of course!)

1/4 butternut pumpkin, skin left on, seeds discarded and cut into 1 cm thick pieces

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1 medium broccoli head, chopped into small florets

1 small bunch English spinach, stems cut* and roughly chopped

1/4 bunch parsley, roughly chopped

1/2 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 red capsicum, seeds removed and thinly sliced

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons pepitas

50 g feta (~1/4 pack), crumbled

Dressing:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

salt and pepper

Recipe steps

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (fan-forced)
2. Place pumpkin pieces on baking tray and drizzle with olive oil
3. Bake for until pumpkin is cooked, turning pieces over half way (about 10 minutes each side)
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly
5. Meanwhile, place a medium saucepan of water on high heat and bring to the boil
6. Add broccoli florets to boiling water and cook for 1 to 1.5 minutes only (as you want them to be slightly crunchy still)
7. Drain broccoli and place in ice bath (a large mixing bowl with water and ice cubes) or run under cold water to cool as quickly as possible.  When broccoli is cold, drain and leave to dry
8. Place the following prepared salad ingredient in a large bowl:  English spinach, parsley, chickpeas, red capsicum, red onion, pepitas and feta
9. Prepare dressing by whisking together in a small bowl (or you could use a jar)
10. Add cooked pumpkin and broccoli to salad
11. Pour over dressing and gently mix
12. Serve and enjoy

*I like to include some the roughly chopped stems of vegetables such as English spinach.  There’s no reason to throw it out, rather simply give it a good wash, chop and add to your salad alongside the leaves.  It adds a lovely crunchy texture and reduces your food waste too!

Fancy another broccoli salad recipe?  You can also try this recipe for a Romanesco broccoli pasta salad.  Enjoy!