Pumpkin Feta and Macadamia Salad

This colourful salad recipe makes a mouth-watering starter or side dish. If you need a healthy dinner, just add wholegrain bread or brown rice. Dressed with orange juice, olive oil and cumin.

• Ingredients
• Method
• Nutritional content

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 g pumpkin
• 1 bag (150 g) rocket leaves
• 250 g low-fat feta cheese
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 shallots
• 1 Tbsp olive oil for cooking
• 1 Tbsp olive oil for dressing
• 1 tspn cumin powder
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Lightly roast macadamia nuts in oven. Remove and set aside.
2. Peel and cube pumpkin, drizzle with olive oil and roast till soft.
3. Combine olive oil, cumin and orange juice for dressing. Stir well.
4. Chop shallots and combine with rocket leaves in a large salad bowl.
5. Add crumbled feta cheese and macadamia nuts.
6. Add warm roasted pumpkin.
7. Pour dressing over the salad.
8. Sprinkle salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Difficulty rating: Easy
 
Tips

• Use pine nuts instead of macadamias.
• Substitute rocket for baby spinach or other leafy greens. All salad greens are rich in vitamins and minerals and will help keep your eyes, skin and sperm healthy.
• Reduce the amount of oil in the dressing for a lower fat, lower calorie option. Reducing fat intake is an important step you can take to improve your diet and avoid health conditions associated with poor nutrition. These include obesity, metabolic syndrome, erectile dysfunction and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
• Make sure you use low-fat feta cheese with reduced salt for a healthier option. You can check the amount of fat and salt in different brands of feta by looking at the package label. Low-fat cheeses contain the same amount of calcium for healthy teeth and bones, but less calories and fat.
• Serve with crusty wholegrain bread or brown rice for a super healthy meal. Wholegrain cereals are the best source of fibre, the micronutrient which is used by the gastrointestinal system to digest food.

Susan from McDowell, Queensland designed this easy salad recipe.

Nutritional content

Nutritional analysis per serve:

Energy	1388 kJ 332 cal
Protein	19.22 g
Total fat	22.19 g
Saturated fat	7.68 g
Carbohydrates	12.43 g
Total sugars	9.45 g
Fibre	4.52 g
Sodium	702.66 mg
Cholesterol	37.5 mg
Potassium	607.55 mg
Calcium	265.7 mg

 

More information

For more information on nutrition, including information on types and composition of food, nutrition and people, conditions related to nutrition, and diets and recipes, as well as some useful videos and tools, see Nutrition.

For more information on gluten-free diets, see Gluten-Free Diet.

For more information on vegetarian diets, see Vegetarian Diets.