This is my ultimate cool weather salad. It has all the flavor and texture layers – sweet, salty, acidic, tangy, creamy, crunchy, fresh – and just feels like autumn in a bowl.
I like cooking with delicata squash because it doesn’t need to be peeled and it’s easy to cut up, unlike some large squash options. I cut them length-wise, scoop out the seeds and slice into 1/2-1/2″ half circles.
If you know me, you know I like spoonable salads where everything is chopped up and mixed with dressing so you can eat it with a spoon. But if you want the visual of all of the fall-inspired goodies just pile everything on a thick layer of dressing which will make getting dressing in every bite easier.
I keep the salad simple in terms of adding flavor, because the dressing adds all the flavor you need, so everything else that needs seasoning is seasoned simply with salt, maybe pepper if you want.
Autumn Delicata Squash & Goat Cheese Salad with Creamy Sage-Balsamic Dressing
serves 4
Ingredients
for the salad
1-1/4 cups dry wild rice/brown rice blend, cooked*
3 delicata squash, halved/seeded/sliced, roasted with oil and salt (425 degrees, 35-40 min or until edges are golden, toss 3 times during cooking)
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
2 small gala apples, diced
1/2 cup roasted/salted pecans, chopped
6 oz mixed baby greens
for the dressing
3/4 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup water (to consistency)
1/3 cup evoo
25-30 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed and very roughly chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1-1/4 teaspoons sea salt, fine grain
black pepper, to taste
To Make Dressing
In a small skillet, add extra virgin olive oil and garlic cloves. Heat over low or medium low until cloves begin to bubble, reduce heat to low. When cloves are just turning golden around the edges add the sage leaves and fry until they go from light green to dark green, stirring frequently. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
Blend garlic, sage and oil with remaining ingredients until super smooth. You’ll need a high speed blender to get it super smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
NOTES
– brown rice and wild rice have the same cooking time so you can cook them together in one pot (i like the mix of textures and wild rice is pretty expensive so it cuts down on the cost a bit)… i used 3/4 cup dry wild rice and 1/2 cup wild brown rice, cooked together
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