Roasted Pumpkin Cranberry Salad

This quinoa salad is loaded with roasted pumpkin and cranberries, freshened up with sliced fennel, mint, and parsley, and topped with a creamy orange sumac dressing. #salad #quinoa #pumpkin #cranberry #fennel #autumn #winter #vegan

This is the perfect combination of savory, sweet, and tart that makes for a satisfying winter salad. Added bonus, this is a great way to use up all those decorative pumpkins left over from autumn! I have a weakness for collecting pumpkins. By the end of September, it seems like I find another perfect, I’ve-got-to-have-it pumpkin every time I go to the store. While this makes for a very festive front door, I have to quickly figure out what to do with them all once pumpkin season is over. The solution: food! This is just one of the recipes I came up with to solve my pumpkin overload problem.

Serves 3-4 al la carte, 6-8 as a side

Ingredients:

Quinoa

1 ¼ cup quinoa (dry)

¾ cup water

½ cup orange juice

½ teaspoon orange zest

½ teaspoon sumac

½ teaspoon salt

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

2 tbs chopped fresh mint

1 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Pumpkin

5 cups sliced pumpkin

1 tbs olive oil

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Cranberries

2 cups fresh cranberries (can be frozen, but expect to have to pour off some juice

after roasting)

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp molasses

pinch of salt

¼ cup pecans, roughly chopped

Dressing

¼ cup coconut or almond yogurt

1/3 cup orange juice

1 tsp sumac

¼ tsp salt

Directions:

1. Quinoa: add quinoa, water, orange juice, zest, salt, and sumac to an Instant Pot, or pressure cooker, and cook on high pressure for 2 minutes. Allow to naturally release for 10 minutes. Fluff quinoa and add fennel and chopped herbs.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pumpkin on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and toss with oil and seasonings. Then spread out into a single layer and bake for 20 minutes. Toss the pumpkin and return to the oven for an addition 10 minutes, or until done.

3. Meanwhile, place the cranberries on another lined baking sheet and toss with oil, salt, and molasses. Sprinkle pecans over the cranberries and roast at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the cranberries are popping. If using frozen cranberries, they will take about 15 minutes.

4. For the dressing, mix all ingredients until well combined.

5. Toss the quinoa, cranberries, pumpkin, and dressing together and garnish with sumac and fennel greens.

6. Enjoy!