Adding some cooked squash to a salad makes it a bit heavier, a transition between the light food of summer full of raw produce and richer, cooked fall food. Butternut squash is a good option for salads, it is really sweet, slightly nutty, vibrantly orange and when warm and dense is highly qualified as healthy comfort food. Roasting it really amplifies the flavour and gives each piece a crispy outside, while maintaining a tender inside. Nutritionally, just one cup has over four times the vitamin A and half the vitamin C needed for the day, along with several antioxidants, minerals and B vitamins. 
Sturdy greens like lacinto kale stand up to the warm squash without wilting while peppery greens like arugula add some some sharpness.
Coating the butternut in a glaze is an easy way to incorporate an extra layer of flavour. Oil adds some richness, honey deepens the sweetness, cumin imparts a bit of smokiness and sesame seeds accentuate the crispness.
Pomegranate seeds (a.k.a. airils) and green apple add in some crispness and a tart flavour.
A simple but creamy dressing like this almond lime version brings it all together without weighing it down.
- Butternut Squash
- 1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and diced (around 6 cups)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons raw honey (or maple syrup)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (black or white)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- A few dashes each of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
- Salad
- 8 cups leafy greens (I used lacinto kale and arugula)
- 1 pomegranate, seeds only
- 1 granny smith apple, julienned
- 1 lime, juiced
- Optional: ½ cup feta or 1 avocado, diced
- Almond Lime dressing
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 lime, juiced (2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin
- A dash each of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
- Preheat oven to 400°. Toss the butternut squash on a parchment paper lined baking sheet with the honey, oil, sesame seeds, salt and pepper. Bake for 1 hour, stirring around halfway through, until the squash is soft in the middle and crispy on the outsides.
- Coat the apple in the lime juice to keep it from going brown then place in a large bowl with all the other salad ingredients.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Once the butternut is ready toss it with the rest of the salad and dressing.
