Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Honey-Lemon Dressing
Several years ago I took a road trip up to Boston for a wedding, and stayed with two wonderful friends from college. They belong to a CSA or “Community Supported Agriculture” in Boston, and they get a weekly share of vegetables delivered to their door from a local farm.
We decided to cook dinner together using whatever they had received in their box that week, like a vegan Iron Chef with a box of mystery vegetables. Dinner was amazing because everyone had some serious chopping skills, and together we came up with a dish that I knew I had to feature on my blog.
Butternut squash was in the “mystery box” which was the best news ever, since I’m a big fan of this particular squash in just about anything. But I wanted to keep our dinner simple and try to use as few “outside” ingredients as possible, so I tried to combine most of the “mystery” veggies into a big salad.
We used my go-to salad dressing that’s incredibly simple and goes well with most salads. It’s got only five ingredients that are usually found in almost any kitchen–honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I personally choose to eat honey, but if you prefer you can substitute agave or leave out the honey entirely.
We also made ratatouille as our main course, because it’s a really easy and simple veggie stew. Although we tried to make gluten free crepes to hold the ratatouille, they refused to cooperate. We ended up with something resembling Ethiopian injera bread instead, but we ate it anyway!
The dinner included lots of wine, garlic bread, and happy reunions with old friends and roommates, and was one of the best I’d had in a long time. This salad is a great autumn dish on its own or as an appetizer, and will definitely be a hit for a first course at your Thanksgiving dinner!
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Honey-Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
Spring mix lettuce
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed, OR 20 oz pre-cut butternut squash
2 apples
2 pears
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup craisins
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Optional: croutons or pumpkin seeds
Instructions
Peel the butternut squash, cut open lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut the remaining butternut squash into small cubes and place on a tray or baking dish. Brush with maple syrup and roast at 400F for 35 mins.
While the squash is cooking, core the apples and pears. Using a fork in one hand to hold steady, with the other hand cut thin slices of the apples and pears with a sharp knife until you have several "donut-shaped" rings.
Place the apple and pear rings on another tray or baking dish, brush with maple syrup, and roast at 400F for 15 minutes.
To make the dressing, combine honey, olive oil, and lemon juice (if you prefer, you can leave out the honey or sub agave) and whisk to combine. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper, or more to your taste.
Assemble the salad: add lettuce, squash, apples, pears, walnuts, and craisins to a large salad bowl and toss with dressing.