Quinoa with baby spinach, pumpkin, and brussels sprouts with tahini topping

Tahini topping is made out of tahini paste, and tahini paste represents ground sesame seeds. You can prepare it on your own, or you can buy it in the store. Whatever you choose, you should know that it goes perfectly with almost every dish. I combined it with quinoa, baby spinach, brussels sprouts, and pumpkin. You’re going to like it.

Preparation time: 50 minutes
Servings: 2

Quinoa and spinach ingredients:
2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
2 tbsp almonds, finely chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cups baby spinach

Pumpkin ingredients:
3 ½ cups pumpkin, peeled and diced
½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp agave syrup
a pinch of salt
a pinch of black pepper

Ingredients for brussels sprouts in miso glaze:
2 ½ cup brussels sprouts heads, cut in half
1 tsp olive oil + a little more for coating
a pinch of salt
a pinch of black pepper
3 garlic cloves, mashed
1 ½ tsp miso paste
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 ½ tsp agave syrup

Tahini topping ingredients:
2 tbsp tahini paste
1-2 tsp agave syrup
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Heat the oven at 200 °C and line the pan with baking paper.
2. Put the pumpkin cubes in a pan, coat them with olive oil, agave syrup, and season with salt and black pepper. Bake them for 20-25 minutes until the pumpkin softens.
3. Put the brussels sprouts in a bowl, add olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Mix and set aside.
4. In a small separate bowl add miso glaze ingredients: miso paste, apple cider vinegar, and agave syrup and stir until combined. Set aside.
5. Coat the pan with olive oil and leave to heat at moderate temperature. Add garlic and after 1 minute, spread brussels sprouts evenly, with the inner side down, and fry without turning for 5-10 minutes, until they get golden on the inner side.
6. Put the pan with brussels sprouts in the oven heated at 200 °C and continue baking, with turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until softened, then take out from the oven.
7. Coat the brussels sprouts with miso glaze immediately and stir if needed, so every head gets coated.
8. For tahini topping: pour tahini paste, agave syrup, water, and lemon juice in a blender, then blend until creamy and smooth. If the mixture is too thin, add more tahini paste. Set aside for serving.
9. Put chopped almonds in a pan (without oil) and fry for a few minutes, stirring often. Be careful so they don’t burn. Then add cooked and cooled quinoa and balsamic vinegar. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until quinoa gets slightly golden. Then add spinach and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and set the pan aside.
10. Serve the pumpkin, brussels sprouts, quinoa, and spinach on a plate and cover with tahini topping. Serve and enjoy.