Colorful Fall Salad with Nasturtium, Pumpkin, and Spinach

This Colorful Fall Salad with Nasturtium, Pumpkin, and Spinach tastes delicious with a creamy dressing made from cashew cream, horseradish root, and lemon juice.

Celery root: Celery root is a cultivated form of wild celery. As with the other two varieties of cultivated celery, Pascal celery (also called ribbed celery) and leaf celery (also called Chinese celery), celery root has a number of culinary uses. Thanks to its essential oils, celery root has a fresh, clean flavor that stimulates both appetite and digestion. In natural medicine, celery root is used to help with rheumatism, stomach, and intestinal disorders as well as kidney and bladder problems. After you peel celery root, it will discolor quickly. To help prevent this, you can drizzle lemon juice on raw celery root and add vinegar or lemon juice to the cooking water.

Carrots and carotene: Carrots are a favorite low-calorie raw food that are known for their high levels of carotenoids. Carotenoids are fat-soluble phytonutrients, of which beta-carotene is probably the most famous. Beta-carotene is representative of the carotene group of nutrients and is a precursor of vitamin A. It is also referred to as pro-vitamin A.
In plants, carotenoids serve an important role in photosynthesis, provide protection from UV rays, and protect roots from infections. While there is still much debate about whether beta-carotene protects against cancer in humans, the protective action that it has upon cells as an antioxidant has been shown. Synthetically manufactured beta-carotene is used in everyday foods such as food coloring (e.g., in margarine) and added to vitamins as a nutrient. When preparing carrots, it is important to add a little fat to the dish because this is only in this way that our body can absorb the fat-soluble carotene.

Butternut squash: Butternut squash has a relatively thin skin and a fleshy pulp with a buttery, nutty flavor that melts in your mouth. It contains high amounts of beta carotene, which is very good for the skin, hair, and eyes. Just 100 g of butternut squash covers about 80 % of the daily recommended requirement. And it is also rich in vitamin C. Compared to other types of squash, butternut squash contains a relatively high amount of calories, but almost no fat.
Please note that butternut squash can be eaten raw, for example, cut in thin strips or grated in salad or as an ingredient for smoothies.

Dried pumpkin seeds: Dried pumpkin seeds are rich in protein, fiber, and micronutrients.

The following ingredients are rarely raw:
— Cashews: Cashews almost always undergo a heating process even if “raw cashews” is listed on the label. This usually just means that the toxic cardol they contain has been deactivated by steaming instead of roasting. It is only when the process is explained in detail and controlled that we can be sure the cashews are raw. You can find out more information on our page about cashews.

Preparing pumpkin seeds: In general, you can eat the seeds of all edible pumpkins. The best way to remove the pumpkin flesh from the seeds is in a bowl of water: the water helps to separate the fibers from the seeds. You can also put the seeds in heavily salted water to loosen the remaining flesh. Once the seeds have dried, they can be removed from their shells. Place them on a smooth surface and apply light pressure with a rolling pin to crack the shells. You should then be able to insert your thumbnails into this crack to remove the seeds.

Hokkaido: You can replace butternut squash with Hokkaido pumpkin. Hokkaido pumpkin also has a soft, sweet flesh that is not too fibrous.