"Fall flower" salad

These last days, after the tragic events that happened in Paris, Majda and I felt the need to gather and cook together. Cooking and sharing are the values we take refuge in when we face violence, hate and despair. So the day after the attacks, we met and cooked a couscous. A meal of comfort and gathering, a meal to heal the wounds and calm the pain. It’s not a coincidence that couscous is served in funerals in the Maghreb countries. It is also the meal that follows the Friday prayer. Comfort and communion…
This is why we decided to organize a vegetarian couscous dinner to gather people willing to discover new ways to eat, share and dialogue. Food is a beautiful way to discover other cultures and way of lives, and to start to dialogue with them. (You will find below the details of this event, you are very welcome to join.)
 
But in these difficult times, we also need poetry. Therefore, this fall flower salad is very welcome! No doubt that this colorful mix of flavors, sweet and sour, raw and cooked, is our favorite salad of the season.
 
We are sure that the sweetness of apple, the softness of squash, the crunchiness of toasted sunflower seeds won’t leave you indifferent.

“Fall Flower” Salad
Serves 4

150 g spinach leaves
1 small pumpkin (approx. 1 kilo/ 2 pounds), diced
1 avocado, crescent shaped sliced
2 apples, peeled and crescent shaped sliced
1 tsp ghee
2 tbsp olive oil
1 handful sunflower seeds
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
Salt

Pre-heat the oven 180°C. Pour the squash on a tray and gently oil. Cook for 25 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat the ghee. Add the apples and ½ tsp cinnamon; cover with a little water. Cook for about 10 minutes.
In a pan, toast the sunflower seeds with cinnamon and rosemary for 5 minutes.
Remove the squash, apples and sunflower seeds from fire and let cool.
 Arrange the spinach leaves on a plate. Lay the other ingredients at your convenience. Drizzle with olive oil.

Why this recipe?

Ayurveda and salad ... a long story! According to Ayurveda, everything can be good but it depends for whom, when and how it is prepared. From an ayurvedic perspective, raw food is rather recommended for Pitta individuals, in summer and rather at noon. It is difficult to digest for Vatas because its qualities are very similar: light, crispy, airy, dry, cold, sometimes dense and rich (oils, seeds, nuts). It slows the digestive system of Kaphas, which is already as fast as a turtle, because it shares the same identical qualities: dense, slow (to digest because not cooked), rich and especially cold. To summarize, nothing to help digestion! Therefore a salad with raw and cooked ingredients is really better for everyone J
On a bed of raw spinach, we chose ingredients that balance Vata (which tends to be higher during fall). Baked food, hot, tender, rich and digestible: pumpkin, apple, avocado and sunflower seeds.

Squash V ↓P ↓K ↑ (decreases Vata and Pitta, Kapha increases)

•  Its sweet taste and its “heavy” quality make it a rich and nutritious food that is involved in tissue and energy regeneration.
•  Its metabolic action "heating" also promotes digestion.
•  Its digestive action "spicy" is catabolic, which has a slightly laxative effect.
• Baking is very good for Vata and also gives a gourmet taste, very important right now.
• Other action: emollient and expectorant (it liquefies the mucus and helps their elimination)

Spinach V ↓ ↑P ↓K ↓

• Its pungent taste stimulates appetite, increases circulation and adds flavor to other foods. Its astringent side is anti-inflammatory and supports coagulation.
• Its light, crispy and dry qualities can increase Vata. That is why it should always be served with oil.
• Its metabolic action is cooling which supports its anti-inflammatory action.
• Its digestive action is "pungent", which supports detoxification and elimination.
• Rich in: antioxidant, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, Vitamin A / E / K
• Other actions: decreases the activity of the thyroid, bone tonic.

Pumpkin V ↓P ↓K ↑ (winter squash)

• Its sweet taste, its creamy texture and richness make it an excellent food to nourish all tissues.
• The anabolic action on the tissues is promoted by the cooling action on the metabolism.
• Its heaviness (oil) is comforting and calming. It lubricates the intestines and helps eliminate. The pumpkin melts in the mouth like ice-cream or cheese with its creamy texture that many people are looking for in dairy products. So it is a great choice for people who do not consume dairy or who are vegetarian / vegan.
• Food that benefits all levels: taste, metabolism, ojas (promotes energy) and also mental with its 'tamastic "/ dense side that roots the mobile Vata.
• Rich in: Omega 3, potassium, vitamin E.
• Other important actions: emollient, liver tonic, alkaline
  

Apple V↓ ↑  P ↓ K↓

• Its taste depends largely on the variety. Here, we chose a sweet apple, just a little sour, which is more balancing for both Vata and Pitta. The sweet taste generally increases the sugar in the blood. However, apple keeps a low glycemic index and caloric intake.
• Its sour taste promotes saliva production and therefore digestion. This helps to cleanse the liver and it also cools the temperature of the blood by increasing the production of bile in the small intestine.
• Its metabolic action is cooling.
• Its digestive action is "sweet" which supports tissue regeneration, while having laxative action due to its composition high in fiber and water.
• Raw apples can be cold, drying and difficult to digest; while when cooked, they are soft, warming and very digestible.
• In the US, it is said: "One apple a day keeps the doctor away". Ayurveda could easily share the same opinion.

Sunflower seeds V ↓ ↑P ↓K ↓

• Its sweet flavor and tender and oily qualities promote growth and energy.
• Its metabolic action is cooling.
• Its digestive action is anabolic.
• Sunflower seeds are grounding and calming for Vata and Pitta.
• Dry roasting them make them more digestible, especially with the addition of carminative herbs (cinnamon, ginger, rosemary). Besides, it's delicious!
• Rich in: Magnesium, proteins

Olive oil V ↓P ↓  K↑

• Its "sweet" flavor and digestive action support tissue regeneration. It also has a bitter side which increases bile production to clean the liver. That’s why it is very famous for "liver flush".
• Its metabolic action is cooling.
• Other actions: detoxifying, emollient
  

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Vegetarian Couscous Dinner
 
Friday 27 November, 7 pm – 10 pm
Paris 18ème – Métro Château Rouge (adress details provided after booking)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1676846655870928/
 
This will be an opportunity to meet people, share a comforting meal and talk about non-violence ("ahimsa") in our relationship with others, food and ourselves.
 
Namasté
 
Participation fee: 10€ /person
Booking: eloise.ayurveda@gmail.com