BC's Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette...you must make this!

krhm · #1 10-19-2009, 09:23 AM

Friday afternoon I crashed on the couch and watched a Barefoot Contessa episode on "easy French." This recipe caught my eye, and DH and I had it Saturday night with grilled steak. YUM! I did use spinach, since the arugula at the store looked nasty, and really loved the flavor combinations!

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and 3/4-inch) diced
Good olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 ounces baby arugula, washed and spun dry
1/2 cup walnuts halves, toasted
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the butternut squash on a sheet pan. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the maple syrup, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Roast the squash for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until tender. Add the cranberries to the pan for the last 5 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Off the heat, whisk in the mustard, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Place the arugula in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts, and the grated Parmesan. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Sheila in MD · #2 10-19-2009, 09:55 AM

Do you think this would work subbing sweet potatoes for the squash? I am not a squash fan but love sweet potatoes..I know weird since they are really very similar! It sounds great to me except for the squash...which I do realize is the main ingredient

Sheila in MD

tholbrook · #3 10-19-2009, 10:25 AM

Thanks for sharing the recipe, krhm - it looks delicious. I have everything to make it, so it will be on the menu this week.

Sheila, I don't see why sweet potatoes wouldn't be equally good in the salad.

krhm · #4 10-19-2009, 10:27 AM

I think it would work with sweet potatoes, but they might be softer and mushier than the butternut squash, so I would probably roast them for a shorter period of time. Hope you enjoy!

Kari

Valerie226 · #5 10-19-2009, 10:30 AM

Wow, that sounds interesting. I have a bumper crop of butternut squash this year and am looking for new ways to serve it.

tholbrook · #6 10-19-2009, 11:15 PM

I made this tonight, using pumpkin instead of butternut since I had some already peeled and cubed. The only other changes I made:

* I forgot to add the cranberries to the squash while roasting ... I just sprinked them on the salad.
* I added a tablespoon of maple syrup to the dressing because I tossed the squash only in olive oil, salt and pepper.

Excellent salad - I loved the dressing. I even used arugula, which I usually don't like at all (as in, I avoid it like the plague). But it was perfect in this recipe.

(And in case you're wondering why I had arugula in my fridge when I dislike it so much

... I do like it on Eating Well's Green Pizza, which I plan to make a second time this week)

Trishinomaha · #7 10-20-2009, 07:17 AM

This sounds very good. We have recently started branching out and trying squash other than acorn. We had a simple roasted butternut squash last week as a side dish. We'll have to try this one.

vbak · #8 10-20-2009, 07:29 AM

This will be for Thursday with the cider braised pork. I think I will invite the kids over too.

jennyb13 · #9 10-20-2009, 08:05 AM

I made this a few weeks ago. It is absolutely scrumptious! My family was lucky that I didn't eat all of the squash before putting it on the salad. My daughter who is not a fan of squash even liked this.

LakeMartinGal · #10 10-20-2009, 11:52 AM

About how many servings did you get from this recipe? It sounds wonderful... would it make a whole meal, do you think? TIA

krhm · #11 10-20-2009, 04:53 PM

Kay, DH and I ate the whole thing, with small-ish steaks, but I have to admit that I didn't weigh my squash or my spinach. I just used the squash that I had and added spinach until the ratio looked right!

On the episode it came from, Ina made it for her and Jeffrey, followed by sole, and she didn't serve anything else. So, I'd say two big eaters or four smaller. It's not something that holds well, so I would only dress what you know you'd eat right away.

LakeMartinGal · #12 10-20-2009, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krhm

Kay, DH and I ate the whole thing, with small-ish steaks, but I have to admit that I didn't weigh my squash or my spinach. I just used the squash that I had and added spinach until the ratio looked right!

On the episode it came from, Ina made it for her and Jeffrey, followed by sole, and she didn't serve anything else. So, I'd say two big eaters or four smaller. It's not something that holds well, so I would only dress what you know you'd eat right away.

Thanks! It sounds like it would make a great fall luncheon entree... I'm going to have to try it, as your thread title said!

gaja · #13 10-21-2009, 10:02 AM

This looks absolutely wonderful and I just happen to have all the ingredients on hand. Thank you for sharing!

CoconutKisses · #14 10-21-2009, 01:13 PM

yummmm this look great and not too difficult

thanks!

sugaree · #15 10-21-2009, 04:06 PM

Is the squash warm when you put the salad together? I was thinking if I make this for company on Friday night I'd like to roast the squash earlier and assemble it later. Will that work?

wallingjan1 · #16 10-22-2009, 07:12 AM

My CSA share came yesterday and I had everything we needed in it to make this! It was really good. I subbed mizuna for the arugula and added some diced roasted beef that I had in the fridge. My husband loved it too. It was really colorful and looked great on my big serving dish.

Pam

linsleyd · #17 10-22-2009, 09:35 AM

Made this last night and it is delicious! Served with steaks - it would be excellent for company as well!

LakeMartinGal · #18 11-01-2009, 01:11 PM

I made this last night, and DD and I loved it... DH, not so much. But certain medicines he takes interfere with his tasting ability, so we might try it at a different time. Thanks for the recipe!

Aninha · #19 11-08-2009, 11:03 AM

I had to come here to say that I made this salad last week and it was amazingly delicious, so good in fact that I was craving it throughout the week and made it again!
I also used spinach as it was the best looking green on my market, other things I did differently was that I didn't add the cranberries or walnuts to the salad and the maple to the squash (don't like maple). Even with just the spinach, squash and parmesan the salad was great, and my favorite part was the dressing. OMG, this cider vinaigrette is to die for, by far one of my favorite dressings lately, so flavorful and delicious, I love it!!! (and I didn't add as much olive oil as asked for in the recipe, my vinaigrette was thick enough with half of the amount - maybe I reduced the cider too much...)
I agree with Krhm, this is a must try, especially the vinaigrette, really, really amazingly good!
Ana

charley · #20 11-08-2009, 11:22 AM

Completely missed this one. They have a salad at Whole Foods that looks like this sounds, but it's made with spinach. I have everything except the dried cranberries. May try it tomorrow.

Deechef · #21 11-08-2009, 12:22 PM

I made this for a friend the other night and she couldn't get enough of it. Its great!

Aninha · #22 11-08-2009, 12:30 PM

Also I forgot to say that today I made it with acorn squash, just as good! Love all winter squashes!
Ana

ssusan · #23 11-08-2009, 02:40 PM

I'm thinking of making this at Thanksgiving. I'll try it out tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing it
-Susan

krhm · #24 11-09-2009, 07:55 AM

I'm glad everyone is enjoying it!

And I'm also glad for the reminder...this will be on the menu again this week.

ssusan · #25 11-14-2009, 01:18 PM

I made this last week and it was good but butternut squash was smushier than I envisioned. Perhaps it's supposed to be but it could be a) because I had defrosted the squash as I had too much and threw it it in the freezer b)because I roasted it a bit too long or c) it's supposed to be like that

TIA
-Susan

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