This Fall harvest quinoa salad with roasted butternut squash and toasted pecans will become a staple in your kitchen, so much it is delicious and easy to prepare. Make sure to always have a full container in your fridge!

I have started practice meal prep about 2 years ago, while I cannot find food that suits me in my company restaurant, and wanted to control everything I was eating as far as possible. And I am still doing it. I do meal prep every Sunday afternoon, and prepare and cook plenty of simple elements that I will use all along the coming week in my lunchs, diners and snacks. Basically, it is basic preparations, like cooked rice, lentil, or sweet potato, wash and cut veggies for salads, prepare a dhal … It may sound like a lot of work, but when you get use with it, it becomes very easy and quick. It takes me like 1h30 every Sunday, but I know it will make me save like hours all along the week! And as I am a very organized person, following this routine is a way to consider the upcoming week serenely. If I don’t do meal prep, I know that I will spend a lot of time to prepare lunchs and diners, and it is something I don’t really like after a long busy day of working, and most of the time cooking. OR, even worst, I will be too lazy to prepare anything, and will end by cutting a tomato and three leaves of salad and call it my lunch! And I think that is such a shame for someone who preach balanced and conscious food.

To come back to this quinoa salad. I wanted something a little more sophisticated and seasonal for my weekly meals, but always simple and quick to prepare. I directly though about quinoa because it is something I like to eat on a regular basis, as it is nutritive, makes me feel full and so versatile. I like to have some cooked quinoa in my fridge, that I can directly use in my salad bowls, in burger steaks, or enven for breakfast, sweetened with berries and nuts. Quinoa is really easy to prepare, I usually prepare 1 cup of quinoa with 1 and 1/2 cup of water, which leads to about 2 cups of quinoa once cooked.

Lately, I try to be more and more conscious about the food I eat, and particularly the fruits and vegetables. I now buy them in a local farm where I can even directly pick them in the fields, and this is amazing! First, it a lot of fun, but also it is a really nice way to take conscious of the products you buy, where they come from, how they grow, how they are affected by the weather, and obviously: to eat seasonal. This week, I had beautiful squashes and apples as huge as my head, and it inspired me a warming, nourishing, sweet and savory salad. This quinoa salad is my perfect metaphor for fall: creamy roasted butternut squash, toasted pecans and almonds, apple, dry apricots and raisins for the sweet touch and a delicious sweet peanut butter and maple dressing. O M G. And let’s talk about this dressing: probably one of my favorite. I love its sweetness and creaminess that perfectly finish the plate.

What I love about this salad is it’s so simple to put together. What I love to do is to prepare each element individually and put them in separate little bowls (diced apricots, cooked quinoa, pomegranate seeds …). Then, you just have to combine everything in a large bowl, adapting the quantities depending on your taste.   This quinoa salad is my new go-to for any occasion: be it for my weekly meals or even picnics or dinner parties. I made one batch of this last Friday, and it held up in the fridge for the whole week without dressing!

BUTTTERNUT FALL QUINOA SALAD W/ PEANUT MAPLE DRESSING

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serving: about 6

Ingredients:

For the Quinoa salad:

– 750g butternut squash (about 2 cup diced)
– 1 tsp olive oil
– a pinch of salt
– 1 cup uncooked quinoa
– 1+1/2 cup water
– 1 red onion (about 1/4 cup chopped)
– 1/4 cup halves almond
– 1/4 cup pecan nuts
– 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
– 1/2 cup fresh parsley
– 4 dry apricots
– 2 tbsp raisins
– 1/2 apple (about 1/2 cup chopped)

For the Dressing:

– 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
– 1/4 cup water
– 2 tbsp maple syrup
– 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 1/4 tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS :

1. Preheat your oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Chop off both ends of the butternut squash and peel the outer skin. Cut the butternut squash in half and remove the seeds using a spoon. Chop the squash into about 1/2-inch chunks.

3. Place the squash in a large bowl and toss with 1 tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until soft and golden.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa under water and place in a sauce pan with the water. Bring to a boil , then reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered for about 12 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan with a lid. Let sit for about 10 minutes so the quinoa can fluff up.

5. Slice the almonds and break the pecan nuts into small chunks. Heat a dry pan over medium heat. When hot, place the almonds and pecan nuts and toast for about 7 minutes, stirring often to avoid the nuts to burn. When golden, remove from the pan and set aside.

6. Prepare the rest of the ingredients: dice the red onion and the apple, finely chop the parsley, cut the dry apricots into small pieces, break the pomegranate seeds.

7. Once the quinoa and the squash are cooked, you can proceed to assembly. Put the quinoa in a large bowl. Add the diced onion, diced apple, parsley, pomegranate, toasted nuts, apricots, raisins and mix well to combined. Add the squash and gently mix not to break the cubes.

8. Prepare the dressing by simply mixing all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake it to combine. You can also use a blender for a smoother and creamier texture.

9. You can either add half of the dressing in the salad bowl and toss well before serving. Or you can serve the salad as it is and add drizzle the dressing on your plate.

10. You can keep the salad leftovers without the dressing in refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Version Française

SALAD D’AUTOMNE QUINOA ET COURGE BUTTERNUT AVEC SAUCE CACAHUETE

Temps de préparation: 40 minutes
Temps de cuisson: 25 minutes
Temps total: 45 minutes
Quantité: 6 personnes

Ingredients:

Pour la salade de quinoa:

– 750g de courge butternut
– 1 c.à.c d’huile d’olive
– une pincée de sel
– 160g de quinoa non cuit
– 350 ml d’eau
– 1 onion rouge (35g environ)
– 25g d’amandes effilées
– 30g de noix de pecan
– 35g de graines de grenade
– 35g de persil frais
– 4 abricots secs (35g environ)
– 2 c.à.s de raisins secs (30g environ)
– 1/2 pomme (55g environ)

Pour la sauce:

– 125g de beurre de cacahuète
– 60 ml d’eau
– 2 c.à.s de sirop d’érable
– 2 c.à.s de vinaigre de cidre
– 1/4 c.à.c de sel
– 1/4 c.à.s de poivre noir

Instruction :

1. Préchauffer le four à 200°C et chemiser une plaque de papier cuisson.

2. Eplucher la courge butternut, la couper en deux et retirer les graines à l’aide d’une cuillère. Couper la courge en cubes de 15mm de côté environ.

3. Mettre les cubes de courge dans un bol avec 1 c.à.c d’huile d’olive et une pincé de sel. Bien mélange. Répartir les cubes de courge sur la plaque chemisée et cuire au four pendant 20-25 minutes, jusqu’à ce que la courge soit tendre et dorée.

4. Pendant ce temps, préparer le quinoa. Rinser le quinoa à grande eau, égoutter et le placer dans une casserole avec le volume d’eau. Porter à ebullition, puis réduire à feu doux. Cuire couvert pendant environ 12 minutes, jusqu’à ce que toute l’eau ai été absorbée. Puis éteindre le feu et laisser reposer 10 minutes avec le couvercle.

5. Couper les amandes et les noix de pécan en petit morceaux. Faire chauffer une poêle à sec. Y faire dorer les noix pendant environ 7 minutes, en remuant constamment pour éviter qu’elles ne brulent. Une fois quelles sont bien dorées, les retirer du feu et reserver.

6. Préparer le reste des ingrédients: couper l’onion et la pomme en petits cubes, émincer le persil, couper les abricots en petits morceaux et détacher les grains de grenade.

7. Une fois le quinoa et la courge cuits, procéder à l’assemblage. Mettre le quinoa dans un grand bol. Ajouter l’onion, la pomme, le persil, la grenade, les noix toasts, l’abricot et les raisins, et bien mélanger. Ajouter ensuite les cubes de courge et mélanger délicatement.

8. Préparer la sauce en plaçant simplement tous les ingrédients dans un bocal et en secouant énergétiquement. Ou mixer à l’aide d’un blender pour une texture plus lisse et crémeuse.

9. Vous pouvez soit ajouter la moitié de la sauce dans la salade et bien remuer avant de servir, ou servir la salade nature et laisser chacun ajouter la sauce à sa guise.

10. La salade sans sauce se garde jusqu’à 4 jours au réfrigérateur, dans un contenant hermétique.