Easy vegan quinoa risotto "Quinotto" with roasted pumpkin, chick peas and saffron. Another autumn healthy dish perfect for a quick weekday dinner!

I can't get enough of pumpkin this autumn. I've made so many dishes with pumpkin lately and I don't mind making more. Good thing: you never get tired of pumpkin as you can cook it in so many different ways: pumpkin pie and

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If you are looking for a quick and healthy dinner, here is something for you: vegan pumpkin ~~quinoa risotto~~ quinotto with chick peas and saffron. It's super healthy, well-balanced, low-caloric and easy-to-make as well as delicious and flavorful. Saffron adds a fine and unique aroma and color to the dish. I bought it on the Spice Market in Istanbul during my last summer vacation. It was quite pricey but totally worth the money. There is no such a thing as cheap saffron. You can read a very interesting article about saffron on Serious Eats: Spice Hunting: What's The Deal With Saffron? But now let's go back to the recipe. Even if you are not a vegan, you will like it. I decided to go low carb and fancy and made it with quinoa. Being Aztec super food, quinoa is a perfect substitute for the rice in a risotto, as it's nourishing and contains a lot of proteins, amino acids and minerals sharing culinary qualities with rice. If you haven't tried to cook risotto, that is a good time and good recipe to start with. It would be awesome with rice, too. Try it out with rice, if you don't want to use quinoa. You will ask yourself why you didn't make it before! It's a whole new field for experiments with vegetables, seafood, mushrooms, even fruits cooked with rice, quinoa or buckwheat. Check the recipe for my vegan pumpkin ~~quinoa risotto~~ quinotto with chick peas and saffron below!