Recipe: Fall Harvest Salad
If you’re looking for a show-stopping side dish, look no further than this Fall Harvest Salad. Along with the lovely orange, red, and green colors come a variety of phytochemicals, or plant compounds, that support and protect our cells from the damage that occurs behind the scenes every day. If you’ve ever heard the terms flavonoids, polyphenols, or carotenoids, these are a few of the antioxidant-rich all-stars!
This salad can easily be promoted to meal status with the addition of your favorite protein source. Great options to consider include roasted chicken, sauteed shrimp, cooked chickpeas, or pan-seared tempeh slices. We hope you enjoy this elegant salad for a flavorful and nutrition-packed taste of fall.
Fall Harvest Salad
Serves 10-12
Ingredients:
- 2 medium Delicata squash
- 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 6 C kale
- 2 Tbsp fresh sage
- 4 clementines
- 1 C walnuts
- 2 Tbsp balsamic reduction
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 C baby arugula
- Seeds from 1/2 pomegranate
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line large baking sheet with foil.
- Scrub, rinse, and dry squash. Slice lengthwise. Remove seeds. Cut into moon-shaped slivers, about 1/2-inch thick. Place in large bowl. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper, tossing well to coat. Arrange squash in single layer on baking sheet. Do not rinse bowl. Roast 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While squash is roasting, rinse and destem kale. Tear into bite-size pieces. Rinse, destem, and roughly chop sage. Peel and section clementines.
- Toast walnuts in sauté pan on stove over medium heat, stirring constantly until fragrant. Remove from heat to cool.
- Remove squash from oven and return to unrinsed bowl. While squash is hot, add sage and kale. Toss to combine. Cool to room temperature.
- In small bowl, whisk together remaining oil, balsamic reduction, syrup, and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- Once cooled, add toasted walnuts, baby arugula, pomegranate seeds, and clementine segments to bowl with kale and squash. Toss salad well to combine. Serve with dressing separately or drizzled over salad.
Swaps:
- For the Delicata squash: a similarly-sized butternut squash, acorn squash, or pie pumpkin cut into bite-sized pieces
- For the kale: collard greens or spinach
- For the fresh sage: 1 Tbsp ground sage
- For the walnuts: pecans
- For the baby arugula: dandelion greens or mixed greens
- For the balsamic reduction: balsamic vinegar
- For the 1/2 pomegranate: 2/3 C prepped pomegranate seeds ready to eat, found in produce section