Fall Bliss Salad
When cookbook author and award-winning blogger Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen invited friends over for a Please Help Me Clean Out The Fridge dinner, she made this salad using a neglected winter squash and immediately wondered why she didn’t do it more often. It feels like the epitome of late fall, the kind of thing Deb can never resist if she sees it on a lunch menu.
But here’s the benefit of making it at home: It’s exactly right. No wilted lettuce has snuck in with the mix. No sleepy, flavorless pepitas fall to the bottom of the bowl. And the dressing is special. If the oven is on anyway, you might as well wrap a couple shallots in foil, add them to the tray, roast until tender, then blend them with sherry vinegar and olive oil into something exceptional. You get the aroma and gentle sweetness of caramelized onions, but the brightness of a vinaigrette and it complements everything else—squash, pepitas, goat cheese and pomegranate—perfectly.
This would be lovely as part of a Thanksgiving spread or enjoy half of it for a solo lunch.
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1-lb. (500-g) honeynut squash, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced (1/4 inch/6 mm)
- 2 medium (4 oz./125 g) shallots, halved lengthwise and peeled
- 3/4 tsp. smooth Dijon mustard
- 3 Tbs. sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar, plus more to taste
- 1 to 2 Tbs. water, as needed
- 8 oz. (250 g) kale or spinach leaves, torn or chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup (1 1/2 oz./45 g) fresh pomegranate arils
- 2 oz. (60 g) soft goat cheese (chèvre), crumbled
- 1/2 cup (2 oz./60 g) toasted, salted pepitas (see note below)
Directions:
To prepare the squash and shallots, preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle or brush the parchment lightly with olive oil and sprinkle the oil with salt and pepper. Arrange the honeynut squash slices in one layer on the parchment, then coat the slices lightly with more olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place the shallot halves on a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Tightly seal the foil around them into a little packet and place on the baking sheet with the squash.
Roast the squash and shallots until the squash is lightly brown underneath, about 15 minutes. Flip the squash pieces and carefully open the foil packet with the shallots. Return the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the squash is evenly brown, 5 to 10 minutes more. The shallots will not be brown or look caramelized but will be tender, which is all you need. If you’d like, you can return the open foil packet to the oven for another 10 minutes for more color and flavor, but it’s not necessary.
To make the dressing, in a blender or food processor, whiz the warm shallots with 4 Tbs. olive oil until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the machine running, add the mustard and 3 Tbs. vinegar, blending until smooth. Season well with salt and pepper, and blend again. Taste and adjust with more vinegar, salt and pepper as needed. If the dressing is very thick, you can thin it with 1 to 2 Tbs. water.
Do ahead: The recipe can be paused here until needed. The squash and dressing are perfectly delicious at room temperature.
To serve: In a large wide bowl or salad plate, toss the greens with half of the dressing and season with additional salt and pepper. Arrange the roasted squash over the greens, fanning out the slices if you wish. Sprinkle the salad with the pomegranate arils, goat cheese and pepitas and drizzle some of the remaining dressing over, to taste. Serve immediately, with extra dressing on the side. Serves 2 as a main, 6 as a side.
Notes:
Pepitas: When you buy pepitas, sometimes they are crackly-crisp and wonderful, sometimes, even when labeled roasted, they seem flat and almost stale. When the latter happens, you can warm them in a small fry pan with 1 tsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. butter, salt and red pepper flakes to taste over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they’re a shade darker and smell nutty. Set aside until you’re ready to use them.
Lettuce: Kale or spinach are delicious here, but you can use whatever you have on hand, such as a 4-oz. (125-g) package of baby kale, a few ounces of red endive, thinly sliced, and a handful of green oak leaf lettuce. Sturdier lettuces hold up better if the salad needs to rest.
Recipe courtesy of Deb Perelman, cookbook author and founder of Smitten Kitchen
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