Meatless Monday: Roasted Squash and Quinoa Salad with Rosemary-Lemon Vinaigrette

Hello Darlings!
I love when there are sales on squash. With my sweettooth’s  voracious appetite, anything that is sweet *and* healthy is a great find.  Both butternut and kabocha squash varieties are super sweet, healthy, and are delicious roasted (and we know my long-lasting obsession with roasted veggies), so I picked up one of each and decided to base a meal around them. I added filling quinoa, some sunflower seeds for their good fats, and a rosemary-lemon vinaigrette to cut a bit of the sweetness.
Ingredients:
Kabocha Squash
Butternut Squash
1 ½ Cups Quinoa
¼ Cup Sunflower Seeds
Olive Oil ¼ Cup plus a few tablespoons for coating squash
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 Cloves Garlic
Rosemary 1 Large fresh sprig or 2 teaspoons dried
Large Lemon
3 Cups Water
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Add quinoa and water to rice cooker (also can cook in a saucepan) let cook.
3. Cut both squashes into small cubes. For the butternut squash, cut an inch or less off each end then use a vegetable peeler to remove the rind.

Cut in half and remove the seeds. Leave the peel on for the kabocha squash, it is a great source of fiber!

4. Add enough olive oil to coat the squash cubes, season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spread seasoned squash in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Roast in oven for 20 minutes.
6. Add sunflower seeds to the squash in the oven and mix, flipping the squash pieces.
7. Continue roasting for another ten minutes or until squash is soft and easily pierced by a fork.
8. While the squash is roasting add the leaves of a sprig of rosemary, cloves of garlic, and about a ¼ teaspoon sea salt into a mortar. Grind until a chunky paste.
9. Add the juice of a lemon into the paste.
10. Transfer the lemon-rosemary paste mixture into a small bowl and add ¼ cup olive oil, whisk to combine.
11. In a large bowl combine cooked quinoa (the quinoa should be moist and fluffy), sunflower seed-squash mixture and lemon-rosemary vinaigrette.
12. Mix well.
Enjoy!

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19 Comments

  3. Great pictures! I've been cooking "Meatless Monday" for my husband for the past couple weeks, but now he's onto me… This afternoon he came home from the grocery store with bags full of chicken!