An autumn entrée salad featuring spiced and roasted squash, marinated kale, Thai basil, pomegranate, and a maple-sweetened onion dressing.
This is essentially autumn in salad form: roasted squash with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, pomegranate, and a maple dressing. I’m pretty obsessed with pumpkin during this season, but sometimes I branch out to other varieties of autumn squash. Delicata squash is one of my favorites due to the fact that it is easy to prepare (no peeling necessary!), cooks quickly, and has a beautiful flavor. However, any squash will do so feel free to mix it up! I make this a meal by adding garbanzo beans and hazelnuts, but if you want a less filling salad, just leave them out. Enjoy!
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
Salad
1 medium delicata squash, de-seeded and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
2 bunches kale, de-stemmed and chopped
1 cup red cabbage, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
½ cup Thai Basil, divided (if you don’t have Thai basil, substitute thinly sliced fennel to achieve a similar flavor)
¼ cup fresh dill (optional)
¼ cup pomegranate arils
½ cup chopped hazelnuts (optional)
Dressing
½ medium sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ cup spicy brown mustard
¼ cup lemon or lime juice
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper (optional)
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
For the dressing, place all ingredients in a high powdered blender and blend until smooth. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Place the delicata squash slices in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, cinnamon, caraway seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, nutmeg, paprika, and salt and toss to coat. If using garbanzo beans, toss them in as well. Spread the contents of the bowl evenly on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, flipping the squash halfway through. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Place the chopped kale in a large, ideally shallow, serving bowl and toss with about half of the dressing to marinate and soften the kale.
Roughly chop about ¾ of the Thai basil leaves and sprinkle over the kale, along with the cabbage, carrots, and dill.
Top the salad with the roasted squash and garbanzo beans, pomegranate arils, chopped hazelnuts, and remaining Thai basil leaves. Drizzle the rest of the dressing over the salad when ready to serve.
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