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Roasted Delicata Salad with Maple Balsamic

Course Fall / Winter Harvest Salad
Cuisine Holiday Side Dish
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 4 to 6 servings
Author Andrea Wyckoff

Ingredients

  • Salad Base
  • 5 oz to 6 arugula lettuce 1 container
  • 3/4 cup pomegranate arils or dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup red onion diced
  • ounces optional: 3 feta or chevre crumbled

Roasted Delicata Squash

  • 1 to 2 delicata squash
  • 2 Tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoons to 2 dried sage
  • 2 pinches sea salt
  • Candied Pecans
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 Tablespoon oil or butter
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
  • pinch of sea salt
  • optional: pinch of cayenne

Maple Balsamic Dressing

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • pinch of sea salt
  • teaspoon optional: 1/4 cinnamon
  • optional: pinch of cayenne

Instructions

  1. Roasted Delicata Squash: Preheat oven to 425*F.
  2. Wash delicata squash well, as after roasting the skin is totally edible.
  3. Slice delicata in half long ways, scrape out seeds with a spoon. Then slice each half into thin half rings.
  4. Toss in oil, sage, sea salt. Spread out evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes at 425*F, flipping them over 1/2 way through baking.
  6. Pomegrante Arils: Prepare pomegrante seeds. I use the water method for no mess clean-up as described above, with a photo.
  7. Candied Pecans: Lightly toast pecans with a little oil (or butter) in a saute pan over medium heat, stirring often. They will toast up within a few minutes, so keep a close eye on them to prevent burning. At the last minute, drizzle in maple syrup and sprinkle on sea salt and cayenne. Stir well while the maple syrup sizzles, turn off heat. Then spoon nuts to rest on a plate lined with parchment paper where the coating will firm up and cool.
  8. Maple Balsamic Salad Dressing: Mix dressing ingredients together in a small jar, whisk with a fork. If serving right away toss greens in dressing, or serve dressing on the side. If serving on the side you may want to make a double batch of the dressing.
  9. Arrange salad on a platter and serve. Happy Holidays!!