The changing seasons are an endless source of inspiration for my cooking. One of my favourite seasons (for the food!) is fall – squash, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, beets, parsnips, apples…I could go on.
I decided to celebrate the flavours of fall with this autumn harvest bowl- bursting with roasted Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and red cabbage with quinoa, chickpeas & pumpkin seeds, all drizzled with an apple cider vinaigrette. It doesn’t get much more fall than that!
This is a recipe that is fairly forgiving with respect to amounts. If you love Brussels sprouts, roast a whole bunch! If you hate cabbage, leave it out! Feel free to customize it to make it your own. Love what you eat!
Ingredients:
3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 small head of red cabbage, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3/4 cup quinoa, dry
1-19oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
For the vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
1.5 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, grated
If needed, 1 tsp maple syrup or honey (I try to avoid adding sugars wherever I can!)
Salt & pepper, to taste
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425F. Place sliced veggies on 2 lined baking sheets. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until cooked through and browned- about 30 minutes. You can always stick the veggies under the broiler for a few minutes to get them extra-crispy!
2) Cook quinoa according to package directions. For less mushy quinoa, cook as you normally would, but uncovered. Once the liquid has been absorbed, remove from heat and put the lid on for ~5 minutes to steam.
3) Prepare vinaigrette. Place all vinaigrette ingredients into a mason jar, pop the lid on, and shake it up.
4) Assemble! Place some cooked quinoa, chickpeas and roasted veggies into a bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds!
