Once upon a time, while working in South Melbourne, I found the best organic cafe ever. Can’t for the life of me remember the name of it, but I do remember the salad I used to order: A lentil, pumpkin, red cabbage and spinach mix with a creamy aioli-curry dressing. Amazing. In an effort to recreate be-it a slightly more healthy version, I have omitted the creamy dressing in favour of a light olive-oil based one, and added in some kidney beans I had on hand. Great to make a big batch of, as it will last for a few days in the fridge!
CURRIED PUMPKIN AND LENTIL SALAD
500g butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into 3cm cubes
1/3 cup olive oil plus extra for drizzling
salt and pepper
1 can lentils, rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 red cabbage, very finely shredded
100g baby spinach leaves
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp curry powder
- Preheat oven to 180C
- Place pumpkin on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes until tender. Remove and allow to cool completely.
- Once cooled, mix pumpkin with lentils, beans, onion, cabbage and spinach.
- In a jar, combine 1/3 cup olive oil, pomegranate molasses and curry powder and season with salt and pepper. Shake jar to combine and pour over salad.
- Transfer salad to a bowl to serve.
Serves 4
