Roasted Squash and Kale Salad

This salad is a beautiful array of complementary colors, flavors and textures. There is roasted garlic to accentuate the sweetness of the roasted butternut squash combined with the tartness of lemony kale and red   onions along with a hint of sweetness from the fruit. 

Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale Salad

1 medium butternut squash, peeled with a vegetable peeler, seeded and chopped into one-inch pieces (I used 4 cups of peeled, cut squash, which left some to use another time)

4-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (I used 6 cloves)

1 tbsp olive oil

couple pinches of sea salt

3-4 large stalks curly kale, torn off thick stalk then thinly sliced (or just torn into small pieces) - about 4 cups

1/4 of a savoy cabbage head, cut into thin slices - about 2-3 cups (use more kale if you don't have this beautiful cabbage available)

3 tbsp lemon juice (fresh if available but bottled will work, too)

pinch of sea salt

1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into rings (the last one from our Fall CSA share!)

1/2 cup blueberries (I used thawed frozen organic blueberries, picked last summer)

Dressing:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
dash sea salt, or to taste
1 tsp honey (maple syrup will also do if you are out of honey)
1 tsp Dijon mustard

In a medium bowl, combine butternut squash cubes with the oil, minced garlic and sprinkle with sea salt. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Roast at 350 degrees F. until fork-tender, but not falling apart (around 30-40 minutes).

Meanwhile, mix the kale, lemon juice and salt with your hands, massaging it together for a minute or so. It will wilt and reduce in volume. Add cabbage. 

Make dressing by whisking olive oil, vinegar, salt, honey, and mustard together. Pour over kale and cabbage, toss to coat.

When the butternut squash has finished roasting, remove from oven to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Add to kale and gently toss together. Add the red onion rings and toss again. Last, add the frozen blueberries or dried fruit. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I made a full meal by pairing this salad with slices of roasted chicken and whole grain bread. 

This was enough salad for 3 generous main dish servings. Would easily serve 4-6 as a side salad. 

Photo: Peeled and cubed butternut squash with olive oil and chopped garlic, ready to roast - the garlic will make your kitchen smell wonderful!)

(Photo: Savoy cabbage, whole and sliced - the young clerk at the grocery store actually said "Euuu", meaning yuck when he picked it up to scan, telling me "It looks like a brain". I urged him to actually give it a try because it was beautiful when cut into ribbons and tasted great, too!)

(Photo: All ready to eat - can you see the red onions, the blueberries, the squash, the massaged kale and the ribbons of savoy cabbage? The roasted and sliced chicken is in the upper right corner of the photo. The bread is still in the oven because it was frozen and not quite ready yet - we used it at the end of the meal to mop up all of the delicious dressing on our plates.)

Where kale is more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD