Posts Tagged ‘butternut squash’


Roasted Vegetable and Citrus Kale Salad

Roasted Vegetable and Citrus Kale Salad.psd

I’m not going to lie; sometimes I go a little bit wild in the produce aisle of my local Market Basket. Like really wild. It’s like my own little version of Sunday afternoon Supermarket Sweep. I think it has something to do with the fact that each time I go grocery shopping I feel like I’m starting anew. The choices I make will be the choices I live with for at least an entire week. A whole 7-10 days. And thus, I end up throwing pretty much every vegetable and fruit known to man into my shopping cart. But then I get home and realize that just having nutritious food in my refrigerator does not automatically make me healthy (IF ONLY). And that many of these vegetables cannot be consumed without being prepared in some fashion (whole raw brussels sprouts and butternut squash? Probably not). And that they spoil. Quickly. So, after spending the week eating take-out and cookies, I end my week with a giant meal packed with all my healthy produce that I purchased on that aspirational Sunday afternoon when dreams were being made.

OK, it doesn’t totally go like that. But I do usually end my week trying to pack in lots of fruits and veggies before they go bad. This Roasted Vegetable and Citrus Salad has been one of my favorite “eat everything in the fridge” concoctions in a while. And probably one of the healthiest. I also put Sriracha in the dressing, so there’s that, too. Because this wasn’t exactly a planned meal, I don’t have an ingredient shot. But here’s what went into my salad… Which I’m also deeming the flu fighter salad. Take one of these and one dose of my Honey Apple Bourbon Toddy and you’re good to go. I think.

Roasted Vegetable and Citrus Kale Salad (serves about 4):
Print this recipe!

  • 2 C diced butternut squash
  • 2 C brussels sprouts, halved
  • 1 pink grapefruit, sectioned
  • 1 bunch kale, cleaned and trimmed
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 lime
  • 2 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 t Sriracha

I tossed my butternut squash in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roasted at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

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I also tossed my brussels sprouts in olive oil and salt and pepper and roasted them for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees, until browned to your liking.

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I sectioned my grapefruit utilizing the fabulous skills I learned in my Knife Skills class at the Cambridge Center for Culinary Arts a couple months ago. This tutorial is also pretty great.

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I peeled and pitted an avocado and sliced it up, as well. And filled a bowl with kale.

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I piled all my toppings into the bowl.

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And mixed together the freshly squeezed lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, and sriracha in a separate small bowl.

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And drizzled it over the top.

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Before you even dig in, you’ll start to feel healthy. Just the fact that all this produce made it from the grocery store to your shopping cart to your refrigerator to a bowl in front of you is HUGE. And will probably cure all kinds of ailments.

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But taking a bite or two will get you even one step further, so dig in.

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I’m not sure what my favorite part of this salad was, but I think it was seeing how many different elements of it I could get on each forkful. Also, any time you have pink grapefruit in a salad, I’m game. You could probably put absolutely ANYTHING in the salad and I’d be OK as long as I had some grapefruit. Also, if you’re not a big “kale person,” the lime Sriracha dressing will make you one. Try it.

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It’s meals like these that make me feel OK with the fact that I go a little produce aisle crazy sometimes. The good stuff ended up in my belly and not in the trashcan so it was all worth it. I even brought a serving of this salad to lunch with me the next day with some kalamata olives and grape tomatoes thrown in for good measure.

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It might not be a hot steaming bowl of chili, but I do believe a salad packed with vitamins and antioxidants is one of the ultimate comfort foods. OK, so it’s not going to warm me up in this 15 degree Boston weather, but it will make my body happy. And if you need warming up, just add a little extra Sriracha in.

What’s your best “use everything in the fridge” meal?

[Sues]

Crispy Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Pomegranate

Crispy Kale Salad1.psd

Sometimes I imagine that there’s someone out there who makes every single recipe I put on the blog. They’re probably very nice, but a little bit creepy in that they wait for me to post before deciding what to have for dinner. Kind of stalkerish if you ask me. However, sometimes this is what gives me that extra push to get my post up when I occasionally would rather stare blankly at The Bachelorette or sit on the couch and put things in my shopping cart on Nordstrom.com and imagine that my credit card can handle the check out. This imaginary person needs to eat and they’re counting on me to post. And so I carry on.

It’s this imaginary person who also encourages me to post a healthy recipe from time to time. I put brussels sprouts in my grilled cheese for this imaginary person because I worry. And now I’m worried that he or she has been eating a little too much ice cream in the past week, what with my gingerbread ice cream followed by my malted candy cane milkshake. Their blood sugar is probably out the roof and they are seriously lacking vitamins. So, here’s to you, imaginary person. Please, get yourself to the grocery store and pick up the ingredients you need to make this crispy kale salad with roasted butternut squash and pomegranate. There’s even a little pomegranate vinaigrette to top it with. Your body will thank you. And I promise there will be more ice cream soon. It is the holiday season, after all.

In all seriousness, I’ve been craving kale like crazy, but I wanted it to be a little crunchy. Not like kale chip crunchy, but a little bit crispy. I wanted to be festive so I made a salad with Christmas colors. Really, it just worked out that way, but I’m happy it did! This is a multi-step salad, but worth every step!

Crispy Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Pomegranate (serves 4):
Print this recipe!

  • 2 C cubed butternut squash
  • Extra-virgin olive oil (I used Colavita), used throughout the recipe
  • 1/4 C pumpkin seeds
  • 1 t cumin
  • 1 large buch kale, stems removed and leaves sliced
  • 1/4 C pomegranate juice
  • 1 T white wine vinegar
  • 1/3 C pomegranate arils

Crispy Kale Salad Ingredients.jpg

The squash is a good place to start as it can often take a long time to bake. Since I bought a peeled halved squash and diced it before roasting, it was actually pretty quick and easy. I simply tossed it with 1 T extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. Then I set it on a foil-covered baking sheet and roasted at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, turning it halfway through.

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I’m still loving my shipment of Colavita olive oils and for this meal I used the 100% Argentinian Fruit Extra Virgin.

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I liked that the description said it had “an intense fruity aroma and taste” and thought it would complement this dish perfectly. Good thing it did because I used quite a bit of it :)

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When your squash is done, remove from oven and let cool. I didn’t want this to be a hot salad.

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At this point, I lowered my oven temperature to 250 degrees.

In the meantime, I tossed my pumpkin seeds with a little bit of olive oil, 1 t cumin, and salt and pepper.

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And I baked my pumpkin seeds in my mini oven at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.

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You could definitely do the pumpkin seeds ahead of time. Or even toast them (just be sure to watch closely as they can toast [and burn!] quickly). Since you need the oven set at 3 different temperatures for this recipe, it’s worth it to do things ahead. Alternately, you could toast these at 250 degrees with the kale and just leave them in the oven a little longer.

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Wash and trim kale and lay it in a single layer on a foil-covered baking sheet. You’ll probably need two large baking sheets! Brush the kale lightly with more olive oil.

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Once the oven gets down to 250 degrees, pop the kale in and bake for about 30 minutes, checking it every now and then.

It will shrink up in a major way! Womp womp.

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While kale is baking, mix ingredients for vinaigrette together. I used 1/4 C pomegranate juice (POM!), 1 T olive oil, and 1 T white wine vinegar.

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When kale came out of the oven, I let it cool a bit.

Then I put it in a couple bowls and topped with butternut squash, cumin pumpkin seeds, and pomegranates. And drizzled some pomegranate vinaigrette over the top.

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Instantly, every bite of ice cream you’ve eaten over the past two weeks will disappear from existence. And your hips.

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Not really. But at least you’ll be getting some vitamins that ice cream can’t provide?

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I feel like I judge many of my meals on the “what did Chris say/act like” when he was eating it method. But it works because a) he’s a tough critic and b) it takes a lot for him to get excited about food. I think he was skeptical of me as I was in the kitchen making this.

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I told him, “you don’t have to eat it…” but he wanted to try and literally licked his bowl clean. He also declared it “the best salad I’ve ever eaten,” which I’m declaring as a victory in my book.

There’s nothing unhealthy about this!

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To be honest, my original intent was to put goat cheese in this, but somehow goat cheese never made it into my shopping cart and I didn’t realize it until I was already knee-deep in kale.

No matter. No matter at all. For once, I didn’t need cheese.

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The kale was exactly how I wanted it. Almost to chip-level, but still fit for a salad. The squash tasted almost caramelized and pomegranates are also welcome in my life. The pumpkin seeds added an extra spiceful kick, without overwhelming.

And the dressing was perfectly tart and acidic to mix things up.

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If this recipe wasn’t so many darn steps, I’d be eating it for lunch every single day. As it was, we didn’t have any leftovers and I was chock out of kale and squash.

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So now I’ll dream about it until next time. And maybe eat some ice cream in the meantime.

You’re welcome, imaginary person reading my blog and making every recipe on it. I forced you away from the ice cream and into a salad. I think some day you’ll thank me.

What’s your favorite way to get some vitamins and nutrition into your diet?

[Sues]