This time of year there’s a temptation to hibernate and eat loads of comfort foods like Pumpkin & Thyme Risotto, Cabbage Rolls, Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers, Sheepless Pie, Aubergine Rolls or my favourite go-to Aubergine and Pepper Curry. However if, like me, you didn’t just overindulge on Christmas day but for the whole of December, you may be getting into salads!
This is a hearty salad making it perfect for winter. It comes together really quickly with minimal cooking making it a handy mid week meal too.
This salad is made with pumpkin slices that have been roasted in garlic infused olive oil and red pepper flakes, lentils that are cooked with oregano and thyme, tender leaves of spicy rocket, creamy walnuts and a sweet (and tangy) balso dressing. A wonderful combination creating a simple and delicious meal.
The lentils make the perfect companion for the flavour combinations of the peppery rocket, sweet roasted pumpkin and buttery walnuts.
For many vegans, lentils have long been a dependable food.* I always have lentils in my larder as they’re a great year-round staple that can easily be transformed into hundreds of mouthwatering meals.
A few of fun lentil facts, courtesy of wikipedia:
- Canada is the largest export producer of lentils in the world
- Lentils have the second-highest ratio of protein per calorie of any legume (soybeans have the highest)
- Lentils are a rich source of B vitamins – folate(B9), thiamin(B1), pantothenic acid(B5) and B6, as well as iron and zinc.
I recently learned some important vitamin B trivia. Now, lots of you may already know this or simply not find it interesting but, for those who don’t and do (don’t already know and do find it interesting), here goes:
There are eight B vitamins even though it goes up to B12. B4, B8, B10 and B11 don’t exist, this is because substances thought to be essential vitamins were allocated to these numbers but then subsequently removed as they failed to meet the qualifying criteria.
So, the eight B vitamins (‘B complex’) are B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12. These are essential nutrients that all play a role in keeping our bodies functioning well, each individual vitamin also has a unique number of benefits for the body.
I don’t know about you but I feel like I should quickly cover some of the other ingredients now as this post is becoming very lentil/B-vit heavy!
Walnuts are rich in antioxidants. They’re a great source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 essential fatty acids, manganese and copper. They are also a good source of molybdenum and biotin(B7) – I couldn’t resist!
And, as already mentioned in my Halloween and Pumpkins post, Pumpkin’s are a good source of potassium, protein and iron, as well as vitamin A and (you guessed it) – B!
Well, this post ended up being longer than I expected!
If you get a chance to make the salad I hope you enjoy it!
*For many, lentils are a dietary staple. As fodmap-ers we need to keep an eye on our allowance and canned lentils are preferable as they have lower FODMAPs.
Pumpkin, Lentil and Walnut Salad
Ingredients
- 500 g pumpkin
- 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil goo
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 184 g* lentils rinsed and drained
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 50 g crumbled walnuts
- 4 large handfuls rocket
- Balsamic Dressing serves 6
- 6 tbsp balsamic vinegar balso
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175C
- Cover the pumpkin with goo, red pepper flakes and ground black pepper then bake for circa 35 minutes, until tender/cooked through, turning once.
- While the pumpkin is cooking wash and drain the lentils, put them in a saucepan with the oregano and thyme
- Put all the balso vinaigrette ingredients into a screw-top glass jar, put the lid on and shake well
- When there are only 5 minutes to go until the pumpkin is ready turn on the hob and heat up the lentils, stirring regularly (I do this for circa 4/5 minutes)
- Divide the washed rocket onto 4 plates/bowls. Divide the lentils, roasted pumpkin and walnuts.
- Drizzle with the balsamic dressing**
- Serve immediately, Enjoy!
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