Kiss Winter Goodbye Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash
Even with baseball streaming nightly in our apartment, it still does not feel like Spring. it's April- and there is snow in the forecast out here in Connecticut tomorrow. While wiping snow off our cars is literally the bane of our existence and we won't miss the chilly walk from our cars into the office, we will miss winter veggies and this fantastic salad.
On Mondays, we enjoy starting the week with a big, protein packed salad for dinner. Let's be honest, sometimes we have to do something to get back on track after a weekend of treating our selves (read: happy hour wine deals got the best of us). But salads with bagged lettuce and raw veggies don't always cut it, and since this is the big leagues, we gotcha covered with this kale and roasted butternut squash salad, with toasted pecans and medium boiled eggs. This combination is filling, delicious and vitamin-rich.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Head of Tuscan kale
- 1 butternut squash (chopped to similar small sized cubes)
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 3 eggs
- Salt and pepper
For the dressing:
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
How we did it:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with non stick spray (we love Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray)
- In a large bowl, toss the chopped butternut squash in a the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine well so that squash is evenly coated in oil and spices. Spread the cubes of squash out on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned and soft.
- When there is about 5 minutes left on the squash, place the raw pecans in a pyrex baking dish and stick in the oven for the remaining 5 minutes, shaking them up about half way through. When you remove the pecans they should be fragrant!
- To medium boil the eggs, boil about 2.5 inches of water. Once water is boiling, gently add eggs using a slotted spoon into the water. Cover and let boil for 7 minutes. Gently remove the eggs from the boiling water with the slotted spoon and place in an ice bath. to let them cool completely. One cool in your hands, peel, cut into quarters, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- While the eggs cool, whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl. If the dressing appears too thick to evenly coat the kale, you can add lemon juice or a little water.
- In a large bowl, toss the kale in the dressing and separate into two bowls. Add the warm nuts, butternut squash and quartered egg.
- Enjoy!
As we savor this Winter salad, we want to know, what Spring salad ingredients are you looking forward to seeing? Let us know in the comments as we cross our fingers for warmer weather!
