This recipe is adapted from Movida restaurant in Melbourne and it is so good! It would make an impressive side dish, light lunch, or even main course. The rich flavours are balanced beautifully by the sharpness of the quince and although it does take a little time to prepare, I promise it will be worth it…
Quince, pumpkin, eggplant, quinoa salad
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil + extra for roasting pumpkin
- 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 large quince
- 1 Lebanese eggplant , chopped into 1/2 inch dice
- 1/4 jap pumpkin , pealed and chopped into small 1 inch dice
- 1 green capsicum , chopped
- 1 small onion , diced
- 1 tomato , diced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- pinch of salt
- Handful of chopped parsley
- Pomegranate seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Cook the quinoa according to the packet directions and then spread on a tray to cool; refrigerate until ready to use.
- Wash and dry quince and place on a baking tray, bake for 1 hour, or until soft. While that is cooking, spread pumpkin on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat, and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until tender (you want it to hold its shape)
- Heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat and cook the eggplant until golden and tender. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out eggplant and drain on paper towel. Now add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in the capsicum, bay leaves, and cumin and reduce heat to low-medium; cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, peel and dice the roasted quince and cut into 1 inch dice.
- Add the tomato and tomato paste to the capsicum mixture and cook for a few minutes. Add the roasted pumpkin, quince, eggplant, quinoa and parsley and gently mix together. Season to taste, add to a large bowl and garnish with pomegranate seeds
- Serve warm
Notes
Increase the cumin to a couple of teaspoons if you enjoy the taste. I kept it very mild for the little dude...
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