Butternut squash quinoa salad | healthy warm winter salad

Butternut squash perfect base for a healthy winter salad. The butternut squash has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin.The nicest way to cook this fruit is to roast it in the oven, the sweet and nutty flavour will come out the best. For my Butternut squash quinoa salad, I added several other vegetables that go well with the squash. To give this salad a bit of an Asian flavour. I made a tomato dressing and topped the salad with some seaweed. For the sweetness in this salad, I only used natural sweeteners like honey and unsulfurized apricot*.  

What’s butternut squash good for?

It is a good source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and it is a source of vitamin A. Vitamine A and C are antioxidants and its good for your eyes, skin and mucous membranes. 

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash – peeled and seeded
• olive oil
• 3 garlic minced
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• red cabbage
• unsulfurized apricot* to taste
• 3 medium tomatoes
• seaweed
• salt and black pepper to taste
• honey optional

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Cut the butternut squash in small cubes.
3. Toss butternut squash with olive oil and 1 garlic in a large bowl. Season with salt and black pepper. Arrange coated squash on a baking sheet.
4. Roast in the preheated oven until squash is tender and lightly browned, will take around 40 minutes.
5. In the meantime, cook the quinoa according to the packaging. Usually the ratio is 1 (quinoa) : 2 (water). So for this recipe its 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup water.  After boiling simmer it for 10 minutes with the lid on.
6. Cut the apricots in small pieces. 

Directions for the dressing

1. Cut the tomatoes in small pieces.
2. Heat up a small pan with some oil and add 2 garlic. When you can smell the aroma of the garlic add in the tomatoes. Cook it until its soft and it looks like tomato sauce. Add a bit of water if its too dry. 
3. Mix the quinoa and the dressing together. The ratio that I like is 30% quinoa and 70% dressing. So mix it as you like. 

Combine

Time to put all the ingredients togethers. Place all the vegetables in a large bowl, add in the apricot and the dressing. Sprinkle some seaweed on top of it. 

Serve it warm. 

* The unsulfurized apricots are a bit darker in color. The apricots have not been treated with sulfur after drying, which is the case with the bright orange apricots. The unsulfurized apricots are slightly less sweet, but pure natural.