Good morning! I hope that you had a great weekend! We did a lot of yoga, things around the house, tried a new restaurant and watched a little football and a movie. The perfect mix of work and relaxation.
I am still eating a lot of salads and this one might be my favorite one. It is a little tart, a little sweet, a little nutty and a little creamy and crunchy all in one mouthful. Filled with the flavors of Fall this salad can grace your table for many months to come. The best part, you can caramelize the squash, toast the nuts, and prepare the quinoa ahead of time and just throw this salad together whenever you want a nice healthy bowl.
Caramelized Butternut Squash, Quinoa Salad with Cherries, Almonds and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
1 cup toasted almonds
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup of goat cheese crumbled
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
pinch of poppy seeds
4 cups mixed greens
Vinaigrette of your choice
Directions
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil, add butternut squash and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the squash is soft and the edges are brown. Make sure to stir every 10 minutes.
You can toast the almonds during the last five minutes. Be very careful to watch the almonds as nuts burn very easily.
To assemble, place mixed greens on a plate or bowl. In a separate bowl mix quinoa, butternut squash, almonds, cheese, cherries then pile onto greens. Serve with the dressing of your choice.
This salad is very versatile and you can add basically any squash, dried fruit like cranberries or apricots, pecans, walnuts, or cheese like feta, blue or gorgonzola and toss with greens for a delicious lunch, add a little protein like chicken and you have an easy dinner.
What did you make this weekend? Anything tasty, if so please share.
I hope that you have a great week. I am hoping that Hurricane Matthew swings out to sea so that he does not travel up the East Coast.
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So good for you, all this COLOR!
There are foods I think of raw and those I think of cooked, and I rarely think of mixing them. Squash is in the cooked category, but of course it could be roasted and eaten cold! Thanks for pushing me out of my rut.
I love squash and cranberries. Looks like my kind of salad. Have a wonderful week, Elizabeth!
Looks delicious Elizabeth. I will make it one day soon.
Hope your week is special
Helen xx
Hi Elizabeth, love this. Would you like to share this with the other participants in Food on Friday over at Carole's Chatter? I have a weekly link up party – each week there is a different ingredient or theme. The current theme is Pumpkin and/or Parsnip.
You can see upcoming themes in one of the pages at the top of my home page. If you would like to join in the fun please schedule a reminder for each week. The collection starts at 7am Friday New Zealand time – which is probably some time Thursday your time – I do find time zones quite confusing. Hope to see you soon. Cheers, Carole
That's quite a dish.
Oh my goodness! This looks amazing! I'll definitely be adding this to my "date night at home" menu! Thanks for sharing!