As the pumpkin season just started, here is a recipe to a hearty salad with a lot of flavor! Squash, especially red kuri squash, also known as Hokkaido squash, is one of my favorite vegetable as it has a wonderful texture, tastes really delicious and contains heaps of vitamin b1, b2, b6, vitamin c, vitamin e, folic acid, magnesium and phosphor.

The skin of a Hokkaido squash is edible so there is no need to peel it!I can really recommend making a big batch at once as you can keep this salad in the fridge for about three days. 

Ingredients for one big salad: 

  • 1 red kuri squash (small to medium size)
  • 300 g quinoa
  • 200 ml coconut milk
  • 1 zucchini
  • 80 g walnuts
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • optional fresh parsley
  • chili powder, salt & pepper

Instructions:

  1. Start by cooking the squash in whole* in a big pot for 30 minutes until it’s soft.
  2. Meanwhile wash the quinoa. Add the washed quinoa to boiling water (1 part quinoa on 2 parts of water) and let it simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes.
  3. Cut the zucchini into small pieces.
  4. Roast the walnuts on low heat in a pan.
  5. Prepare the dressing by combining spices, coconut cream and optional parsley.
  6. When the pumpkin is soft and the quinoa cooked mix all the ingredients together, add the dressing, the olive oil and the roasted walnuts.

*I prefer to cook the squash as whole as the uncooked consistency is really hard to cut and I’ve cut myself several times.