• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Recipes
  • Meat Cleavers
  • Hello Fresh Review
  • Hello Fresh Recipes

Kitchenist

July 24, 2017 By Eleanor Busing 7 Comments

On bad luck and good lunches: Quinoa Squash Salad

squashsalad1

The moral of today’s story is: always check your email as soon as you receive it. While this probably isn’t particularly helpful advice in the case of say, bills or junk mail (because who wants to open those in a hurry?), I certainly wish that I’d followed it last week.

Our story begins with me, a “failed delivery” notice in hand, heading to my local post office to retrieve a parcel. I wasn’t expecting anything, so this small excitement was a bright spot in my day so far (sad, I know). Could it be a late birthday present? Some thoughtful gift from family or friend? Turns out, it was a large and heavy box from a PR group, the name of which I vaguely recalled as I manoeuvred it into my bag. “Probably samples of something or other”, I thought to myself and went on my way.

I had been on my way to the grocery store, but the bulk and weight of the package made me wonder if I should drop it off at home before continuing. But I’m lazy rather than weak, so I decided to stay the course. I was on a mission to pick up a couple ingredients for the days ahead, including a box of quinoa for a squash salad I’d been dreaming about. My local grocery store doesn’t exactly cater to gourmets, and even basic things like this can be tricky to come across.

It transpired that this week there was quinoa in stock, but only the fancy imported kind, costing nearly £4 for a tiny box. Reasoning that I couldn’t exactly make my Quinoa Squash Salad without it, I swallowed hard and bought it. By this time, the weight of my mystery package was making my shoulder quite sore, so I hurried out of the store, opting to take a bus home rather than walk. Of course, I hadn’t prepared for the fact that it was now pouring rain, or that the buses were running late.

squashsalad2

When I finally arrived home half an hour later, tired and sore and cranky and wet, I opened the package. Just as I’d thought, it was a collection of products from Merchant Gourmet; porcini mushrooms and lentils and balsamic syrup and quinoa. Yup, quinoa. Somebody up there must really hate me.

At the very least, I can say that the salad I had for lunch that day was delicious and flavourful, and while I can’t say it made me feel any less stupid about the whole thing, it mollified the situation somewhat. But the next time I get a mysterious package in the post, I’ll be opening it before I go to the grocery store.

squashsalad3

Quinoa Squash Salad

serves 3-4


  • 1 small aubergine/eggplant
  • 1 tsp. fine (table) salt
  • olive oil, for roasting
  • 1 small butternut squash
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped sundried tomatoes (the soft kind, either plastic-packed or soaked in oil)
  • 3 cups cooked quinoa (I used a mix of red and white, but all white would be fine)
  • 1 Tbs. pesto
  • approx. 3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 50g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled
  • sea salt and black pepper, to taste

  1.  Slice the aubergine into 1 cm thick slice and toss with the table salt. Place in a single layer in a colander and set in the sink for 20-30 minutes. This encourages and aubergine to sweat and drain, making it less bitter.
  2.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F  and line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone paper. Peel and core the butternut squash, then chop into 1/2″ chunks. Lightly coat with olive oil (I do this by throwing them all in a bowl, putting a teeny bit of olive oil on my hands and tossing well), then spread out on the baking sheet. Roast for about 20-25 minutes, until tender and crispy in places. Allow cooling.
  3.  Rinse the aubergine well then dry each slice with a paper towel. Cut into quarters, lightly coat with olive oil (see above), then roast in the oven in the same manner as the butternut squash; the aubergine will likely take less time, about 15-20 minutes.
  4.  Put the quinoa, chopped sundried tomatoes and pesto into a large bowl and toss well. When both squashes have cooled to room temperature, toss them in as well, and add as much olive oil as needed to coat everything lightly. Finally, crumble in the goat’s cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Note: I made my own “pesto” of basil leaves, walnuts and olive oil for this recipe, but any favourite recipe or store-bought version should do. If you do want to make your own, I recommend one with walnuts; they work wonderfully with the rich Autumn flavours here.

5
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+

Filed Under: Recipes

Previous Post: « For a Journey: Triple Threat Chocolate Cookies
Next Post: A Fresh Formula to Nigel Slaters Root Vegetable Korma »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. [email protected] Good To Think and Eat says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:00 am

    I love quinoa salads, especially when they’re warm and packed with vegetables. On its own I find quinoa kind of bland and a bit earthy for my taste, but oh how it can be transformed with the correct ingredients.

    Reply
  2. Elana Iaciofano says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:01 am

    This sounds like something that would happen to me! Your description is perfect. Will definitely try this recipe too – thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Dana says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:01 am

    Totally my kind of dish! At least your problem was that you had too much of a good thing rather than not enough, right? 🙂 I’ve been so behind on my blog reading. I have really missed your lovely photos and cheery prose – and the fabulous recipes of course.

    Reply
  4. Ele says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:01 am

    Abigail, that looks so good! I have a broccoli pesto on this blog which I like a lot, too.

    Reply
  5. Valerie says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:02 am

    I just started shopping farmer’s markets three weeks ago, in part because of the lovely pictures on your blog. This is the first recipe of yours that I’ve made- I just had my first bite & it’s amazing!! Thanks. 🙂

    Reply
  6. napewno says

    September 2, 2020 at 8:32 am

    Thanks for this post, I am a big fan of this web site would like to proceed updated.spowrotem

    Reply
  7. if function tutorials says

    September 9, 2020 at 1:16 am

    hey there, your site is cheap. We do thank you for workbasic if function

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Be a part of our weekly newsletter!

Including access to our delicious weekly recipes and independent kitchen reviews.

Hello!

Thanks for visiting our website! I am a passionate blogger and love sharing what I am cooking, what I am using and what I am testing. Be sure to stay tuned for weekly recipes, kitchen related reviews and much more! Find out more

Popular Posts

custardcream3

The Best of Both Worlds: Homemade Custard Creams

italianbeans1

Drawn in: Simple Italian Beans

broadfeta

On Books and Bruschetta: Broad Bean and Feta Bruschetta

Scattered Veg

pumpkinscones4

Good Canadian: Pumpkin, Feta and Chive Scones

Footer

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Learn More

  • About
  • Contact
  • Sitemap

COPYRIGHT © 2020 · Kitchenist