There was quite a lot of work in this salad but it was delicious and got rave reviews from normally fussy family members. The roasted pumpkin and beetroot provide a natural sweetness to the dish, while the crunchiness of the cucumber and snow peas is a good contrast in texture.

Ingredients:

One quarter of a small pumpkin chopped into small pieces

Two whole beetroots chopped into small pieces (they will shrink in the oven)

One and a half cups of chickpeas (soaked and boiled)

One small lebanese cucumber or similar diced (I washed mine well and left the skin on)

One cup of washed and sliced snow peas

One carrot washed and diced/sliced

One quarter of  a cup of pepitas (Pumpkin seeds)

One quarter of a cup of sunflower seeds

Sea Salt

Ground black pepper

The Juice of half a lemon (use a whole lemon if it is small)

Two pieces of spring onion (just the green tops chopped or use the white bits as well if you can tolerate them)

Extra virgin olive oil

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Fresh mint (plus any other fresh herbs you have)

Method:

The first step is to prepare the chick peas which need to be soaked overnight in water and a small amount of sea salt. Rinse, then boil for around thirty minutes or until soft. Place in the fridge to cool.

The next task is to cook the pumpkin and beetroot. Place the chopped up vegetables on trays lined with baking paper and drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and sprinkle with sea salt and ground black pepper. Place in a hot oven (around 200 degrees Celsius) until nice and golden. Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge to cool.

Choose a nice bowl from your cupboard to place your salad in. I like to place this on the table with salad servers and let people serve them self. Place the chickpeas, vegetables, seeds and herbs in the bowl and mix. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and ground black pepper, the lemon juice, and a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a few splashes of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Mix it all up with a spoon. Have a taste and add more of the dressings to suit you.  Place covered in the fridge until required. I served the salad topped with Kapai Puku and accompanied with free range roasted chicken and it was really lovely (see picture above). Enjoy!