Fall Harvest Salad #1
Ingredients:
1 small to medium sized red kuri or kabocha squash, ends trimmed, seeded and cut into 1 to 2 inch segments
1 1/2 cup hazelnuts, dry roasted and roughly crushed (unsalted or lightly salted)
2 batches lacinato or dinosaur kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
3-4 beets, peeled
1 medium sized shallots, peeled and minced
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbsp avocado oil
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper
Steps:
Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C) with the rack adjusted to upper/center position.
Take a large piece of aluminum foil and crease the ends to create an ‘envelope’, leaving one side open. Place the whole peeled beets inside along with salt and olive oil and seal the ‘envelope’ by creasing the remaining open side. Shake gently, turning the ‘envelope’ over and over to distribute the salt and oil on the beets inside. Place the ‘envelope’ in the oven and roast until fork tender, about an hour give or take.
Trim the end of the squash and cut in half from root to base, remove seeds, chop into 1 to 2 inch pieces and rub with avocado oil and salt. Place on a foil lined ½ sheet baking tray and roast until fork tender and browned, turning half way through cooking (about 45 minutes total).
If roasting your own hazelnuts, place them in a ¼ sheet baking tray and roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until fragrant and browned.
Place your kale in a large bowl and cover with water. Salt the water generously with about 3-4 tbsp of salt. Don’t worry, most of this salt will stay in the water at the end of this process. Mix by hand until the salt is dissolved and let sit to brine for 1 hour. In a pinch, this step can be skipped or shortened and it will still work out great :)
In a small bowl make the dressing by combining mustard, dill, shallots, remaining olive oil, cumin, red wine vinegar, soy sauce and salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously until thoroughly combined and lightly emulsified.
Once the Hazelnuts are roasted, remove the skins by placing them in between a towel and rolling it back and forth. Crush them roughly using either a mortar and pestle or food processor. Set aside in a small bowl.
Once everything is out of the oven and cooled, combine the kale, squash, beets, hazelnuts and dressing in a large mixing bowl.
Serve in a bowl, making sure to include lots of the chunky bits on top for fun and color.
#vegetarian