This salad is the best of the best when it comes to autumn ingredients. Choose the most brightly coloured pumpkin you can find to brighten your plate and a good dose of immune boosting vitamin A and vitamin C from the roast cauliflower.
It also offers soluble and insoluble fibres as well as resistant starches, so this salad is great fur gut health and will certainly be helping to keep you regular!
For this recipe, we’ve used brown rice, however the ingredients will taste equally as gorgeous with any other high protein grain that suits you – quinoa, freekeh, millet, buckwheat… anything.
Tahini dressing goes with everything. The smoky, creamy tahini is a paste made of sesame seeds, and just one tablespoon contains around 10% of your daily requirement for essential minerals including magnesium, zinc, copper and manganese.
Preparation time: 20mins
Cooking time: 30mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1.5 cups cooked brown rice (or freekeh, quinoa, millet, etc.)
2 cups pumpkin, chopped into 2cm cubes
½ small cauliflower, chopped into florets
2 tbsp grated parmesan
2 big handfuls rocket leaves
2 figs, sliced
¼ cup sunflower seeds
1 pomegranate, arils removed
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Tahini Dressing:
2 tbsp tahini (unhulled will have a deeper, smokier flavour)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp za’atar or cumin
Juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp water, plus extra
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
1 tsp grated parmesan, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- On an oven tray, scatter the pumpkin on one half, and the cauliflower on the other half. Drizzle with coconut oil or olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over cauliflower.
- Place in the oven with the meatballs and cook for 20mins or until the vegetables are starting to caramelise.
- To make the dressing, in a blender or a small bowl, place all the dressing ingredients. Process or whisk until all the ingredients are well combined. If the dressing is too think, add a little water or olive oil to thin.
- Assemble the salad ingredients including the grains, rocket, figs, sunflower seeds, pomegranate, cauliflower and pumpkin. Gently toss.
- Serve drizzled with tahini dressing.
Alternatives
GAPS friendly alternatives, omit the grains and pomegranate and replace the pumpkin with roast beetroot.
Low FODMAP options, replace the cauliflower for broccoli or brussels sprouts. Omit the figs and pomegranate in the salad, and the garlic in the dressing.
For low oxalate alternatives, swap the brown rice for barley, omit the figs, replace the tahini with avocado for the dressing and season the meatballs with rosemary rather than turmeric.
To add more protein, add 200g chickpeas or pan-fried tempeh.
Make this Download the full recipe in PDF format
Created by Melbourne Naturopath Bree Jenner
© The Health & Wellbeing Studio 2019
