Roasted squash and pear salad with cider vinaigrette

This salad is complex enough for the foodies in your life, but filled with ingredients yummy enough for even discerning little ones (maybe paired down to its component parts, but it depends on your kid).

Take me to the salad!

So, I’ve mostly succumbed to my existential dread and begun inhaling the Halloween candy that I SWORE I wouldn’t open until October 31st. Since my snacking has taken a turn and I also feel like it’s not really fall until I post a kale salad with some sort of roasted squash, I’m coming in hot with this baby today.

Lacinto kale (Tuscan/Dinosaur kale) is the base. This is my favorite kale to use in salads because you can dress it way in advance and it’ll stay crisp for days (and no one can complain about soggy lettuce!). It also stands up well against the nuts, seeds, roasted veggies, and tangy dressing here.

I roasted some honeynut squash (above) which looks like a mini butternut, but is oh so much better. I find butternut squash a little too bland and watery and there are so many other varieties with more taste and body like kabocha and koginut. Plus, they’re so puuuurty.

You might be thinking— “What is this woman smoking if she thinks I’m going to roast squash, toast nuts, fry sage and shallots, AND make a dressing mid-day on a Wednesday.” But hear me out. My squash-roasting method is so easy: split the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and place it on a baking sheet cut side down and roast at 425 until fork tender (no peeling or stem trimming required!). Set it and forget it!

The nuts and seeds can be toasted alongside the squash in a separate small pan for like 4-5 minutes without any sort of prep at all (skins still on!).

Finally, the sautéed shallots and sage…well, there’s no way to make them easier. They’re not HARD by any stretch, but they require a little more work than your average salad, I’ll give you that. But they make this salad an EVENT, so if you CAN slow down and make yourself a nice lunch, I guarantee it’ll be worth it. Also, my kid loves fried shallots, so it’s a selling point in his book.

Roasted Squash and Pear Salad with Cider Vinaigrette

Time: 1 hour (about 40 minutes active)
Yield: 2 meal-sized salads or 3 side salads

2-4 small, firm fleshed squash like Delicata, Koginut, or Kabocha
1 bunch Lacinto kale (also called Tuscan or Dinosaur), washed, de-stemmed, and torn
1 Tbsp olive oil
Large pinch of salt
1/4 cup raw hazelnuts
2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp butter
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
5-6 large sage leaves
1/4 cup feta, goat’s cheese, or any other cheese you like
1 large pear, cored and sliced
Large pinch of Allepo pepper (optional)
Cider vinaigrette (recipe below)

For the cider vinaigrette
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 425. Split the squash down the middle with a sharp knife, scoop out the seeds and stringy bits from the center, and place cut side down on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. DO NOT trim the ends or the stem off of the squash. Bake until the outer skin and inner flesh is fork tender, about 35-40 minutes depending upon the size and amount of squash (I like to roast a lot at once so I can freeze the extra and use it for future dishes). Let cool. The skin will slip off of the flesh easily.

While the squash is cooking, prep the kale. Wash, tear the leaves off of the tough inner stems, and then rip the leaves into medium pieces. Top with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and massage and squeeze the kale with your hands to make it more tender. Sprinkle with a large pinch of salt.

In a separate pan, place the raw nuts and seeds. Toast in the oven with the squash for 4-5 minutes or until the nuts and seeds begin to toast and smell nutty. Keep a close eye to prevent burning.

In a small saute pan, melt the butter over a medium high flame. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the sage leaves and cook until they go dark and crispy.

Make the dressing: Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Or use a small jar with a lid and shake until combined.

Top the lettuce with enough of the dressing to coat well. Add the squash, nuts, seeds, fried shallots, fried sage, and cheese. Just before serving, core and slice the pear and add to the salad (to prevent browning). Top with a large pinch of Aleppo pepper or other little bit of heat and more salt if necessary. Top with the rest of the dressing.

Meatless Mondays: Spinach pasta

After consuming roughly 10 lbs of sugar while making M's 3rd birthday sushi cake last week (in case you missed it), it was time for a reset. Feels like the 100th reset of the year already, no? Anyway, BALANCE.

So, I don't just like creamed spinach, I like, like creamed spinach. And I won't try to convince you that creamed spinach made without cream is the same thing. Hence, why I'm not calling this "creamed spinach pasta." But when I had the urge to make creamed spinach and mix in some pasta for a hearty and meatless dinner, I thought, maybe I can go one further and skip the cream altogether. Because, you know, the 10 lbs of sugar.

I started out with the Food52 Cauliflower Carbonara that surfaced a few months ago. This sauce is also delicious in its own right, but I would not compare it to high octane carbonara (though it's an excellent way to get loads of vegetables into your child if you're into that sort of thing). I thought that the cauliflower flavor would be too strong to conceivably substitute for cream and I was right.

Then I gave this Bean-Creamed Spinach recipe on Epicurious a shot. A few tweaks later and we have a lively sauce that uses minimal dairy and even less meat. I used chicken broth because that's what we usually have on hand, but subbing in a vegetable broth would be perfectly fine.

I'm not sure you can really omit the cheese entirely because, to me, it rounds out the flavor. But if you use vegan cheese or nutritional yeast regularly, feel free to sub in some of those for the Asiago and Parmesan.

A note about pre-cooking the spinach: I find that when I cook spinach in whatever sauce it will eventually be covered with, I get a strange spinach-y film on my teeth that is wholly unappetizing. For whatever reason, wilting the spinach first and pressing out the excess water avoids the film and makes the dish taste much better. In my opinion, entirely worth the extra 10 minutes.

Sadly, this post was not sponsored by Whole Foods. I should really get on that.

Spinach pasta

1 lb baby spinach
2 large cloves garlic
½ large onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 can/box of white beans
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp Aleppo pepper or paprika
½ tsp mustard powder
1 tsp lemon juice (or the juice of ½ small lemon)
1 lb dry pasta
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup Asiago cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

If needed, give your spinach a quick rinse. Place all of the spinach in a second large pot and start to wilt over medium heat. Give the spinach a few stirs to make sure it wilts evenly. This usually takes me about 10 minutes.

While wilting your spinach, give the onions and garlic a rough chop. You’ll puree these later, so don’t worry about mincing. Open, rinse, and drain your can of beans and measure out your stock.

When all of the spinach is wilted, turn the greens out onto a dishtowel or a few paper towels. This spinach is hot and we want this meal to be done quickly, so I like to add another dishtowel or a few more paper towels on top of the spinach and then weigh it down with a kettle or heavy pot. While you cook everything else, the spinach drains.

Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to your now empty large pot. Over medium heat, sauté the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the beans and give a few stirs. Add the stock and season with salt and pepper. Turn the flame to medium high and bring the stock to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by half.

While the liquid is reducing, give your drained spinach a rough chop. Set aside. If you haven't already, start cooking your pasta.

When the stock has reduced by half, add the Aleppo pepper (or paprika) and the mustard powder. Puree the stock and white bean mixture with either a very strong immersion blender or in a regular blender. Return to the pan. Mix in the cooked spinach. Add the cooked and drained pasta and the cheeses and stir well to combine. Taste for seasoning.

Yield: 9 cups