The love affair with pumpkin goes beyond the winter months and into spring with this dish – turmeric spiced chicken with pumpkin hummus and greens. It combines some of my favourite flavours and spices together with a great contrast of textures, colours and, of course, delivers on all the macro nutrients (proteins, carbs, and fats) for a spring bowl of deliciousness. You can serve the pumpkin hummus as I do in this dish, or pop it into your next snack or entertaining platter as the weather warms and the end of year celebratory vibes begin to flow.
Turmeric spiced chicken, pumpkin hummus and greens
GF : DF : SF
Serves 2
Ingredients
Pumpkin hummus
1kg pumpkin pieces, cut 2cm thick
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Turmeric spiced chicken
300g whole chicken breast, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Pinch sea salt
2 cups (40g) baby spinach or chard
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 avocado, sliced
2 tablespoons dukkah
Lemon wedges to serve
Method
Preheat oven to 200C, place pumpkin on a tray, drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and toss to coat.
Cook 20 minutes on a large, lined baking tray then remove from oven and allow to cool.
Once cooled, place in a food processor with remaining olive oil, cumin, coriander, tahini and lemon juice, blitz until smooth. Set aside to cool.
While hummus is cooling, mix the spices for the chicken – turmeric, paprika, coriander, cumin and sea salt – together in a small bowl, then rub over the chicken breast. Place on a lined baking tray and cook for 15-18 minutes.
Remove from oven, cover and rest for five minutes. To serve, lightly sauté baby spinach or chard in olive oil for two to three minutes.
Place a good scoop of pumpkin hummus in a bowl, arrange spinach into bowl, slice chicken and place over the hummus. Top with avocado, sprinkle with dukkah, add lemon wedges to side and serve.
Jacqueline Alwill is a qualified, practicing nutritionist, author of Seasons to Share and director at The Brown Paper Bag.
