Friends, fall semester is finished! That means that I will be whipping up a few extra recipes during break to share with you all. Todays recipe, butternut squash quinoa salad with kale, was inspired by my cucumber dill quinoa salad.
Quinoa salad is a go-to kind of dish because it is fast and easy. In this fall version, roasted butternut squash and kale replace the cucumber and dill I use in spring to make an equally satisfying salad.
Pomegranate or cranberries add a bit of sweet and tart that balances the flavors of this salad. They do have different textures, however. Pomegranate has a juicy pop and a bit of a crunch from the seed, which is either addicting to you, or you hate it.
Cranberries add chew, but they lack the mositure of the pomegranate. I also find cranberries easier to keep on hand than pomegranetes, so there are pros and cons to each. Use what you prefer.
Variations to the Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Kale recipe:
- Try adding chickpeas to increase the protein if you want to serve this as a main dish.
- I love onion, so it is a must in my salad, but it could easily be omited.
- I used kale as a color additive because that’s what I had on hand that was green. You could also use arugula, spinach, cilantro, or parsley.
- Quinoa tends to soak up a lot of the dressing. If you want leftovers, only dress what you want to eat or all the dressing will disappear!
- 1½ cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced
- 1 cup minced kale, from 1 extra large leaf, or 2 small
- ½ cup pomegranate arils or dried cranberries
- ¼ cup minced onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup each: olive oil and red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Toss butternut squash with 1 TBS olive oil on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt, and spread out on the sheet. Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Toss the squash, and cook another 15 minutes, or until tender.
- Meanwhile. Mix quinoa with 3 cups water in a pot or rice cooker. Cook until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.
- Mix together quinoa, butternut squash, kale, pomegranate or cranberries, and onion.
- In a liquid measuring cup, combine garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Pour dressing over the quinoa mixture and serve immediately.
