a plate of kabocha squash, fennel and kale salad

This roasted Kabocha Squash, Fennel and Kale salad with toasted Hazelnuts is super tasty, nice and chunky and a great way to indulge during the colder months!

There are a few of small techniques in here like breaking down a kabocha squash, toasting hazelnuts, and stemming and macerating kale that are super useful to have on hand but other than that this recipe is pretty simple. Roast some squash, toast some nuts, make a nice dressing and mix a bunch of stuff together.

It’s also an easy recipe to modify to your preferences and can be as simple or as complex as you like! You can swap out the Kabocha for just about any type of squash really and can try adding in other roasted root veggies like beets or parsnips!

Below is the full recipe and step by step instructions for this, along with a recipe mod to make this vegan and a social video!

Cheers,

Joey

Youtube Video:

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Full Recipe:

Roasted Kabocha Squash and Fennel, Kale and Toasted Hazelnut Salad

I love a good and chunky salad like this for the colder months!

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Cook Time 1 45

Servings: 5

Course: lunch

Cuisine: American

Calories: 410

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients:

½ medium sized red kuri or kabocha squash ends trimmed, seeded and cut into 1 to 2 inch segments
2 cups fennel trimmed and sliced vertically into 1″ matchsticks
¼ cup fennel fronds fine chopped
2 batches lacinato or dinosaur kale stemmed and roughly chopped
1 ½ cup hazelnuts dry roasted and roughly crushed (unsalted or lightly salted)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp aleppo pepper
6 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
coarse salt a sprinkle to finish

Dressing Ingredients:

1 medium shallots peeled and minced
1 clove garlic minced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for finishing
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp aleppo pepper
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C) with the rack adjusted to upper/center position.
Season your squash and fennel with salt, pepper, cumin and aleppo pepper flakes. Toss with 2 tbsp of olive oil and place in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet (use 2 sheets if necessary). Roast until tender and well browned (about 45 minutes to an hour).
Place your kale in a large bowl along with juice from a lemon, 2 tbsp of olive oil and salt. Mix everything up by hand, macerating the kale as you go. Set aside.
Roast/Toast your hazelnuts but placing them on a skillet over medium heat, stirring them constantly until nicely toasted and nutty smelling. 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 by pulsing in a food processor. Set aside.
To make the dressing, combine your shallots, garlic, dijon mustard, aleppo pepper and red wine vinegar in a medium sized bowl. Whisk in olive oil until nicely emulsified and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine your roasted fennel and squash, macerated kale, about ⅔ of the toasted hazelnuts and half of your dressing. Toss to combine and add more dressing to taste.
To plate, stack your salad tall on a plate and sprinkle more hazelnuts on top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, a little more aleppo pepper and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.

Nutrition

Calories: 410kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 7gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 29gSodium: 112mgPotassium: 552mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1467IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 4mg

Notes

For a higher protein version of this add in some chopped up grilled chicken or pan seared tofu
You can sub out the Kabocha for another type of squash like butternut squash, Red Kuri squash or butternut squash.
You can also add in roasted carrots, parsnips or even beets if you like!