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Hi guys! I was so enthusiastic I decided to get myself and early birthday present and start a real website. So this blog won't be active anymore as from tomorrow:

Come and find me at www.stayaliveandcooking.com instead!

Would love to welcome you there :)
Vivian

February 01, 2016

Perfectly balanced dinner: roasted pumpkin with minced meat, bulgur and a delicious rocket salad

Good morning food lovers!
Today I've got a great recipe to share with you, which turned out to be even better than expected. It was a perfect combination of flavours and we absolutely loved it! I found a recipe online which I used for inspiration, but my friend Noor joined us last moment so we decided to add some minced meat as well. Also, I've got some fresh rosemary which I decided to add to the pumpkin as a nice touch. These kind of "experiments" are what makes me love cooking in the first place: who knows what great dishes result from a little inspiration! Feel free to make your own adjustments and let me know in the comments below, would love to hear from you.

The roasted pumpkin is smooth and sweet, which tastes great with the fresh vegetables and the salty minced meat. Since it was the first time cooking this (I never roasted pumpkin before!) it was a bit of a gamble but I would really recommend trying it, I'm definitely cooking this again! Bulgur is an ingredient I like to use as it can be combined with nearly any dish. 


The recipe may seem to have a lot of steps, it's actually a rather easy and complete meal. Not much can go wrong ;)

This meal was for 3 persons, and we had just enough. You can make the portions a bit bigger if you like. 
Ingredients: 
- half a (small) pumpkin
- bulgur, 170g
- minced meat, 250g
- a small onion 
- rocket lettuce, 50g
- cherry tomatoes, 250g
- feta cheese, 60g
- pepper and salt
- (fresh) rosemary
- olive oil

Directions: 
  • Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. 
  • Place a cutting board on top of a wet cloth to prevent it from moving. Cut the pumpkin in half. The skin is very tough, so be careful! Scoop out the inside: both the seeds and the stringy bits. You can take off the skin as well: we didn't, but some prefer it this way.
  • Cut half of the pumpkin in slices. You can save the other half, or cut it in smaller pieces and place it in the freezer. (I'm making pumpkin pancakes later this week: mmmm!) 
  • Toss the slices in an oven tray and sprinkle it with olive oil, pepper, salt and rosemary. 
  • Place this in the oven for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  • Meanwhile you can start with the rest of your ingredients. Cut up a small onion and start cooking it in a frying pan on medium heat. Add some seasoning to your minced meat and add this to the pan as well. Cook until nice and brown. 
  • Heat up some water and add a cup of bulgur to a pan or bowl with a lid. Add 2 cups of water and let it sit for 15 minutes, until all the water is evaporated. 
  • Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add them to a bowl with the rocket lettuce. 
  • Once the pumpkin is done, you can serve! Place some bulgur on your plate, add some pumpkin slices, minced meat, rocket, tomatoes and feta and enjoy.
Credits to +Uit Pauline's Keuken for the inspiration for this dish. I hope one day I'll own a blog as great as this one.

We really enjoyed this meal and the evening altogether. Noor is one of my best friends: we always talk about so many aspects of our life! However, she is leaving for South-Africa next week... So sad! I'll miss our weekly gymming sessions, or our cooking experiments together. Luckily she'll be back after half a year :)

Will you let me know if you liked this dish? You can also show me your creations by adding #stayaliveandcooking to your instagram posts!
See you next time,
Vivian 

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