Roasted pumpkin and rice salad
The pumpkin roasts in the oven while the rice cooks on the stovetop, then you can potter around and make the dressing at your leisure.
Serves: 4 to 6 as a meal, 6 to 8 as a side
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 600g peeled, deseeded pumpkin, chopped into 2cm cubes (about 800g with the skin and seeds still intact)
- 1 cup brown rice, rinsed in running water until it runs clear
- 1 clove garlic
- good pinch of flaky sea salt
- ½ teaspoon honey
- Juice of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 6 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 4 sticks celery, trimmed and cut into 1cm slices
- ¾ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C and grease an oven dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Tip in the pumpkin and drizzle with the other tablespoon of oil. Bake for around 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin is cooked and beginning to crisp up. Set aside.
2. While the pumpkin is cooking, put the well-washed rice in a medium saucepan with 450ml cold water. Cover and bring to the boil. Let simmer for 12 minutes, then turn off the heat (do NOT lift the lid) and let sit for 15 minutes. The rice should be perfectly cooked and all the water absorbed.
3. Next, make the dressing. Crush the garlic and salt together with the blade of a knife, then scrape into a screw-top jar. Add the honey, juice and vinegar and shake well. Add the oil and shake again until well mixed. Taste for balance and adjust accordingly.
4. When the rice and pumpkin have cooled down a little, tip both into a serving bowl. Add the spring onions and celery, then pour the dressing over the top and toss gently. Sprinkle the toasted pumpkin seeds on top and serve.
5. Best served at room temperature. This makes an excellent packed lunch or serve it alongside a piece of fish with some greens. Makes enough for four lunches or six to eight side dish servings.
Written by Lucy Corry. Republished with permission of Stuff.co.nz. Image credit: Maarten Holl/Stuff.