Roasted Buttercup Pumpkin & Spiced Chickpea Salad Recipe

This salad is inspired by the very delicious Kitchen Of Amelia and an image I came across on Instagram (totally in LOVE with Instagram!). Thankfully, Pic’s Peanut Butter shared the recipe and I have been making this slightly adapted version ever since.

It’s such a delicious way to enjoy seasonal pumpkin which is a rich source of Vitamin A for eye health. The addition of spiced chickpeas adds extra soluble fibre and protein and also provides a lovely texture and of course flavour (it's also about taste remember!).

You could serve this beautiful salad as a side to roasted chicken, baked salmon or fish or even grilled beef or lamb. Otherwise, simply eat it on its own as the chickpeas provide a vegetarian source of protein. You could also add eggs or crumbled feta if you wanted to make it a more substantial vegetarian meal, totally up to you!

Roasted Buttercup Pumpkin & Spiced Chickpea Salad Recipe – serves 6

2 Tbspn Olive oil
Coarse iodised sea salt
Black pepper
½ Buttercup Pumpkin, cut into wedges with the skin left on
400g can chickpeas, drained
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
½ head broccoli, cut into small florets
1 bag or 4-5 cups of leafy greens such as baby spinach, kale or mesclun, washed
Handful fresh basil leaves
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted

Dressing:

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp runny honey
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbspn olive oil
Coarse iodised sea salt
Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Place the pumpkin wedges on a flat baking tray and season with salt, pepper and drizzle with 1 Tbspn of olive oil. Using your hands, ensure all of the pumpkin is covered in a little olive oil. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until golden and soft. Once cooked, remove from the oven and set aside.
Place the chickpeas on a baking-paper lined tray and toss in the spices, salt, pepper and remaining 1 Tbspn olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crunchy and golden. Remove and set aside.
Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes or until bright green and just cooked. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process and keep in the fridge until you are ready to prepare the salad.
To make the dressing, place all of the ingredients into a small jar and shake well. Taste and adjust any seasoning if need be.
To assemble the salad, place the leafy greens and basil on a large platter, scatter over the broccoli florets, followed by half of the spiced chickpeas and all of the pumpkin wedges. Scatter over the remaining half of the chickpeas. Now pour the dressing over the salad just before serving and top with the toasted almonds last to help them stay crunchy.
Enjoy!