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Winter Panzanella

A winter take on the summer classic.

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

  • 1/4 acorn squash partially peeled and cubed*
  • 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil divided
  • 1 TBSP dried sage divided
  • salt and pepper
  • ~4 leaves of lacinato kale stems removed and coarsely chopped
  • 1 thick slice of pumpernickel bread cut into cubes
  • 1/2 apple cored and thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup hazelnuts
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese optional (I love Maytag blue cheese)

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1 TBSP maple syrup**
  • 1 TBSP whole grain brown mustard
  • 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 1/2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

Prepare Salad Ingredients

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Toss squash cubes with 1/2 TBSP oil, 1/2 TBSP sage, salt and pepper and arrange on a baking sheet so that pieces are not touching each other.
  • Roast squash for ~20 minutes until tender.
  • While squash is roasting, heat sautee pan on medium heat and add 1/2 TBSP oil.
  • Add kale to pan and sautee for ~5 minutes until wilted and tender.
  • Toss bread cubes with remaining 1/2 TBSP oil,1/2 TBSP sage, and salt and pepper
  • Arrange bread cubes on baking sheet or toaster oven pan and toast at 400 degrees for ~5-8 minutes until bread is dried out.
  • While bread is toasting, toast hazelnuts on medium heat in a dry pan until fragrant and lightly browned.

Prepare Dressing

  • Combine maple syrup, mustard, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Season with salt and pepper and shake to combine.

Assemble Salad

  • Combine salad ingredients together in a large bowl. pour on dressing (you probably won't need all the dressing) and toss to combine.

Notes

*Winter squashes with ridges like acorn squash and delicata can be a challange to peel. The skin is edible on both squashes, but I find that too much of the skin (particularly with acorn squash) can be unpleasant. When preparing an acorn or delicata squash for roasting in the oven in pieces, I use a partial-peel method. Basically, I peel off the skin that can easily be removed with a vegetable peeler, and leave the rest (the inside of the ridges) in tact. The result is a striped effect, and it's particularly lovely when serving the squash in rings or half-rings.
**Use real maple syrup, not maple-flavored high fructose corn syrup (aka "crap"). The ingredient list on your maple syrup should contain one item:100% pure maple syrup. If there are other ingredients on the list, put it back on the shelf and look for pure maple syrup.