Roasted Winter Squash Salad Boats

A mix of dark leafy greens are served on thick wedges of roasted squash and topped with goat cheese.

So I’m here offering you yet again another orange hued dish.

There’s probably no single color that captures the essence of autumn as perfectly as the color orange.  It’s the shade of the falling leaves and the epitomous symbol of the fall harvest.

Each season has its colors and flavors and squash and pumpkin just taste like October and November to me.  These rusty colored veggies take us from early fall, through Halloween, and Thanksgiving right through to the holiday table in December.

Lately it’s been a parade of squash around here; whether baked, pureed, or roasted they’ve been making themselves at home and seriously taking over my meals. I keep buying them; a counter full of winter squash greets me every time I walk in the kitchen, tempting me to crank up the oven,  pull out my chef’s knife and start chopping away.  It’s a rut I suppose, but one I’m not in a hurry to get out of. A mix of dark leafy greens are served atop thick wedges of roasted squash. You can make this salad with any squash or pumpkin that’s in season but I chose kuri and acorn because of their tender, finely textured flesh and smaller size which makes them easier to cut through.

You start by roasting quarters of the squash until sweet and caramelized, then toss a handful of baby greens with a port wine vinaigrette and pile it in each quarter, topping the whole thing off with crumbles of fresh goat cheese and a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts. It’s fast, simple, not to mention nutrient and fiber rich.  Squirrel this easy roasted winter squash salad in your Thanksgiving file, although frankly it’s just at home any night of the week

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Yield: 4 Servings

Roasted Winter Squash Salad Boats

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

A mix of dark leafy greens are served atop thick wedges of roasted squash and topped with goat and pine nuts.

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Ingredients

For the Salad:

• ¼ cup/28g pine nuts
• 2 small kuri or acorn squash
• 3 tablespoons/45ml olive oil, divided
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons/30ml reduced port wine vinegar, divided (recipe follows)
• 5 oz/ 142g baby spinach and kale, washed and dried
• 2 oz/56g goat cheese

For the Reduced Port Wine Vinegar:

• 1 cup/240ml port wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon/15ml honey or maple syrup

Instructions

Start by making the reduced port wine vinegar:

1. Pour the vinegar into a heavy bottomed saucepan and place over moderate heat.
2. Stir in the honey or maple syrup, and bring to a simmer. Allow the vinegar to reduce slowly to half of its original volume, (it will start to appear syrupy).
3. Store in the refrigerator, in a sealed container until ready to use.

For the salad:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread pine nuts on a large rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and lightly golden, (about 5 minutes). Set aside.
2. Cut squash in half and scrap out seeds. Cut into quarters, leaving skin on.
3. On a large baking sheet, toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast until tender (about 35 to 45 minutes depending on size); let cool.
4. In a large bowl add 1 tablespoon of reduced port vinegar, remaining olive oil; season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add baby spinach and kale, toss to combine.
6. To serve, divide squash, skin side-down, among plates; place dressed salad on top of each quarter and drizzle with extra reduced port wine vinegar if desired and top with toasted pine nuts and crumbled goat cheese.

Notes

Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 313Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 427mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 4g

Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.

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Sylvie

Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.