Autumn Salad featuring Roasted Delicata Squash and Walnuts by Kate from Nevada
Ingredients (all organic, except for the salt)
- Delicata Squash, 1 medium or 2 small
- Coconut Oil, 2 tbsp
- Cinnamon, 1 tsp total or more to taste
- Himalayan Pink Salt, 1 tsp total or more to taste
- Black Pepper, 1.5 tsp total or more to taste
- Baby Arugula, 5 oz, loosely chop
- Baby Kale, 5 oz, loosely chop
- Red Onion, 1 small, shaved with a peeler
- Fennel, 2 large outer stalks, shaved with a peeler or thinly sliced
- Fresh Dill, large handful, chopped
- Walnuts, roughly 1 cup, loosely chopped
- Apple Cider Vinegar, health quarter cup
- Red Wine Vinegar, 1 tbsp
- Paprika, 1/2 tsp
- Bee Pollen, 1/2 tsp (replace with Coconut Sugar if Vegan)
- Stone Ground Mustard, 1/4 tsp
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 tbsps
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 400° F
2. Peel the delicata squash, cut the squash into quarters before, then remove and discard its seeds.
3. Cut each quarter of the squash into crescent-shaped slices. The thinner each slice, the faster the squash will roast in the oven: aim to keep the slices' thickness as consistent as possible so the squash roasts evenly.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a stovetop pan. Place the delicata squash slices in a glass mixing bowl, pour the melted coconut oil over the slices in the glass bowl, and mix to coat the squash slices in coconut oil.
5. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper. Spread the coated squash slices in a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Dust the squash with cinnamon, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper to taste (I used roughly 3/4 tsp each).
6. Place the baking sheet with the squash in the preheated oven and roast the squash for 15 minutes to start. After 15 minutes, check your squash with a fork. If you can easily poke through the squash with your fork, your squash is done and it is time to remove the squash from the oven. If the squash is still very firm, leave it in the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes, depending on the thickness of your squash slices and your desired level of doneness.
7. While your squash is roasting in the oven, ready your Andrew Pearce Handcrafted Walnut Champlain Bowl and Salad Servers for your salad ingredients. Start by loosely cutting and adding the baby arugula and baby kale as your base greens. Then shave the red onion and fennel stalks over the bed of greens. Cut off the bottom one to two inches of your dill bunch, and set aside for your salad dressing. Add the remaining chopped dill and loosely-chopped walnuts to the salad mix. As you add ingredients to the bowl, spread them evenly throughout and mix as you go to avoid clumping.
8. Using a Vitamix (or whatever blender you have), place in your blending cup the fresh dill ends, 1/4 C. Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 3/4 tsp black peppercorns, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp bee pollen, 1/4 tsp stone ground mustard, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt, then blend the ingredients into a liquified dressing, going from low to high speed blending. Taste the dressing before adding oil, and blend in any additional ingredients to taste as desired before adding oil.
9. Add roughly 3 tbsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil to your dressing, then blend the dressing mix on your blender's lowest setting for 5 to 10 seconds to emulsify your dressing.
10. Add the roasted delicata squash and homemade salad dressing to your salad bowl, and mix all ingredients together before serving. Enjoy!
Runner-Ups!
Blueberry and Butternut Couscous Salad by Kathleen from Vermont
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup raw couscous (or farro or quinoa)
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups homegrown blueberries
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta
- 3 greens
Instructions
- Roast squash with 1 tbsp olive oil until tender
- Cook couscous in chicken broth
- Make dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper
- Combine ingredients, serve, enjoy!
Quinoa Kale Salad by Carrie from Massachusetts
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts; seasoned and grilled
- 10 ounces baby kale
- ¼ cup goat cheese
- 1 sweet potato; cubed
- Olive oil
- ½ cup quinoa; cooked
- ¼ cup sweetened dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pepitas
- Brianna's blush wine dressing or dressing of choice
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Coat sweet potato cubes in olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes or until tender.
3. Assemble salad by starting with a generous helping of kale. Top with quinoa, goat cheese, cranberries, cooked sweet potatoes, pepitas and chicken. Top with dressing of choice.