It’s easy to talk about the benefits of eating seasonal food, but putting it into practice can be more challenging than it seems. To help inspire fresh ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, let’s focus on perhaps the healthiest local December ingredient — pumpkin.
Choose the brightest orange pumpkins if you enjoy a sweet, “carrot-like” flavor, or pale orange, elongated varieties if you prefer a more “vegetable-forward” taste. The delicate flavor of any variety allows for versatile dishes: creamy breakfasts, light salads, hearty vegetable mains, or even desserts.
Pumpkin is packed with vitamins A, B, C, PP, and E (which helps prevent wrinkles and aging when consumed regularly), fiber, and minerals such as calcium, iron, copper, fluoride, and zinc. It also contains rare vitamin T, which aids in digesting heavy foods, and pectin, which helps remove cholesterol, radioactive substances, toxic metals, radionuclides, and pesticides from the body.
The combination of carotene and vitamin E in pumpkin makes it a powerful immune booster, helping prevent colds and supporting retinal health. With all these benefits, it’s impossible not to cook with it!
- 600 g pumpkin
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. + 1 tbsp. honey or maple syrup (or date syrup, agave, or any alternative)
- 1 tsp. sesame seeds
- juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp. whole-grain mustard
- 150 g spinach
- a handful of nuts — pine nuts or walnut
Cut the pumpkin into pieces and toss in a bowl with olive oil, 2 tablespoons of honey, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes at 220°C. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.
In a separate bowl, mix the lemon juice with olive oil, mustard, and 1 tablespoon of honey. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine the roasted pumpkin, spinach leaves, and nuts in a large bowl. Drizzle with the mustard dressing and toss gently to coat.
For a non-vegetarian variation, roast chicken fillet alongside the pumpkin and add it to the salad.
Cut the pumpkin into pieces and toss in a bowl with olive oil, 2 tablespoons of honey, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes at 220°C. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.
In a separate bowl, mix the lemon juice with olive oil, mustard, and 1 tablespoon of honey. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine the roasted pumpkin, spinach leaves, and nuts in a large bowl. Drizzle with the mustard dressing and toss gently to coat.
For a non-vegetarian variation, roast chicken fillet alongside the pumpkin and add it to the salad.
