Pumpkin & Chickpea Pasta Salad
I first had a version of this salad at a friends house. My friend is the queen of salads. She will most likely open up a veggie cafe one day with lots and lots of salad options. Since then it has become one of my favourite hearty salads especially for lunch time at work. Its funny because I told my friend the other day that I remade the salad and she had no idea what I was talking about. She had forgotten all about it. Its obviously not a favourite of hers but I really love it because I need salads that can really fill me up! This one is perfect because it has a wholegrain ( pasta) a legume and a starchy veg. All very filling and nutritious.
Since I am pregnant I am not really a fan of overly strong flavours, even in my second trimester. My appetite has definitely picked up to a lot larger than I think it has ever been in my life but I’m not loving anything spicy ( think heart burn) or overly garlicky. For this reason I have toned back some of the flavours in this salad and I think the salad works best with some kind of salty cheese or vegan cheese alternative. I really like it with a normal feta ( feta is the one dairy product I have not been able to give up and is the whole reason I have to name my blog mostly plant based instead of 100% plant based. Maybe one day!) or tofu feta or some sort of vegan goats cheese. Just something that is salty. You can of course omit it altogether but if your not pregnant I would probably up the spices for a bit of extra flavour. The salad does take a little time to prepare as it has a few elements that need to be cooked up but I usually make it with left over pasta and/or left over roasted pumpkin and then all you really need to do is prepare the chickpeas and put it all together.
For those that don’t keep up with me on social media which is where I post more personal type stuff from time to time, I ended up taking my whole first trimester off work. Not because I wanted to, just because I had a few issues at work. I managed to find a part time maternity position that I started about 3 weeks ago and I am loving it! However it has been hard to get back into preparing my lunches for work again especially since pregnancy comes along with lots of laziness! I have recently started using this awesome mixing bowl from Decor Australia ( the second photo). I love it because I am a big fan of preparing salads for work and the bowl I have photographed is simply perfect for all my lunches. The lid is leak proof and air tight and keeps everything fresh for a few days so I can simply scoop out as much salad as I want and be on on my way. You can of course use the bowl for lots of other things too. Its makes a great mixing bowl for baking. I just wanted to give the company or rather this bowl a shout out because honestly guys, pregnancy laziness is real and any products that make my life easier I am so appreciative for!
| Pumpkin & Chickpea Pasta Salad | Print |
- half butternut pumpkin cubed
- 1 cup dry wholemeal pasta or gluten free pasta of choice
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 small onion
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- spinach
- feta or tofu feta (optional)
- olive oil and lemon juice for dressing
- Peel and cube your butternut pumpkin, season with salt, pepper and a little olive oil and roast in oven for about 30 minutes until cooked. Set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions and drain
- Finely chop your onion and fry in small fry pan until soft, add drained chickpeas, garlic powder, cumin and paprika and fry for a few more minutes until mixed well with the onion and spices.
- Mix the pasta, pumpkin and chickpeas together in a large bowl.
- Add as much spinach as you liked and crumble through some tofu feta ( or normal feta)
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon and enjoy
