Dazzle your guests with this beautiful healthy salad that I made for Thanksgiving with greens, red onions, pomegranate seeds, and slivers of roasted acorn squash.
I recently tasted this fabulous salad at a friends' house. It looked like a side dish, but she called it a salad! Maybe because it served at room temperature which is great for freeing up the host from last minute heating. I enjoyed all the flavors of fall in this one salad.
It was made with lightly blanched kale, roasted acorn squash, sweet pomegranate seeds, sliced apple, and chopped pistachios! It was absolutely delicious any screamed fall!
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| I roasted extra squash to use in another recipe |
I added some caramelized red onions, fresh red onions, and some dried cranberries!
Acorn Squash
Acorn squash is a delicately flavored squash that is seasonal locally for Thanksgiving and easy to roast.
Because the squash I purchased was organic, I didn't peel it and we ate skin and all! If you can't find organic, you will want to peel your squash.
OH!! and don't discard the acorn squash seeds!
See my post on How To Roast Acorn Squash Seeds!!
Author: Judee Algazi @ Gluten Free A-Z Blog
Prep Time: 30 minutes (if you use a fresh pomegranate)
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 medium to large acorn squash, halved, seeds removed, and then sliced in 8-10 wedges
3 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds ( can buy from Whole foods already seeded)
3 tablespoons of chopped pistachio nuts ( I opened 10 nuts and chopped)
1 apple peeled, cored, and sliced
4-5 large ribs of uncooked kale
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
optional: 1 red onion cut into half moons and roasted at 375
Olive oil spray or vegetable broth for sautéing.. your choice
This recipe is not hard but has a few steps!
Directions:
Acorn Squash:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Place acorn squash slices on a parchment covered cookie sheet
Spray with acorn squash with olive oil spray or brush with acquafaba (the liquid from cooking chickpeas or from canned chickpeas)
Roast for 30 minutes or until squash is entirely cooked and set aside
Kale: while acorn squash is roasting
Remove the kale leaves from 4 large kale ribs
Place leaves in a bowl ( discard the stems)
Cover with boiling water for 30 seconds
Drain
Cover with very cold or ice water
Squeeze, drain well, and set aside
Assemble:
Acorn squash, blanched kale, onion, dried cranberries and sliced apple. Toss and then sprinkle pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios. Set aside and serve at room temperature
Linking this salad to Souper Sundays Link Up Party where anyone can share a soup, salad, or sammie.
Shared on Beth Fish Read's Weekend Cooking where anyone can share a food related post
OH!! and don't discard the acorn squash seeds!
See my post on How To Roast Acorn Squash Seeds!!
Author: Judee Algazi @ Gluten Free A-Z Blog
Prep Time: 30 minutes (if you use a fresh pomegranate)
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 medium to large acorn squash, halved, seeds removed, and then sliced in 8-10 wedges
3 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds ( can buy from Whole foods already seeded)
3 tablespoons of chopped pistachio nuts ( I opened 10 nuts and chopped)
1 apple peeled, cored, and sliced
4-5 large ribs of uncooked kale
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
optional: 1 red onion cut into half moons and roasted at 375
Olive oil spray or vegetable broth for sautéing.. your choice
This recipe is not hard but has a few steps!
Directions:
Acorn Squash:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Place acorn squash slices on a parchment covered cookie sheet
Spray with acorn squash with olive oil spray or brush with acquafaba (the liquid from cooking chickpeas or from canned chickpeas)
Roast for 30 minutes or until squash is entirely cooked and set aside
Kale: while acorn squash is roasting
Remove the kale leaves from 4 large kale ribs
Place leaves in a bowl ( discard the stems)
Cover with boiling water for 30 seconds
Drain
Cover with very cold or ice water
Squeeze, drain well, and set aside
Acorn squash, blanched kale, onion, dried cranberries and sliced apple. Toss and then sprinkle pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios. Set aside and serve at room temperature
Linking this salad to Souper Sundays Link Up Party where anyone can share a soup, salad, or sammie.
Shared on Beth Fish Read's Weekend Cooking where anyone can share a food related post
Such a pretty salad--I love all of the pops of color and flavor.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with Souper Sundays this week. ;-)
I love every ingredient in this salad. Gotta use those pomegranate seeds while we can!
ReplyDeleteDeb,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the bright green of the kale in this salad
-thanks for hosting Souper Sunday.
Debra,
ReplyDeleteI am such a pomegranate fan and once I open one - I try to use it in everything
I love the combo of the flavours and it looks so beautiful too, Judee.
ReplyDeleteAngie,
ReplyDeleteIt was a hit with my friends, so I thought I would share it.. I was pleased with how pretty it looked ! Thanks
What a gorgeous salad with so much healthy goodness in it, Judee! I've added the link and photo to two of my gluten-free Thanksgiving recipe roundups. Thanks so much! I do have one question. Why is the red onion cooked? Just to make it milder and easier on digestion?
ReplyDeleteShirley
Shirley,
ReplyDeleteI used both raw and roasted red onion in the salad. The roasted onion caramelizes and becomes very sweet and delicious. It's personal taste. I like the onion both ways - my daughter in law likes only the roasted onion and leaves out the raw.. Thanks for including my recipe in your wonderful roundups and have a great Thanksgiving.
We love acorn squash and love kale. This salad looks perfect for a side or a main dish. Yummmm.
ReplyDeleteA great combination of ingredients for the season. I love the pop of color and flavor from pomegranates.
ReplyDeleteWhat a BEAUTIFUL salad! I rarely serve salad at Thanksgiving, but this one is so gorgeous and looks so much like fall that I plan on making it next year. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteMy god this salad is gorgeous! I'm going to have to file it away to bring as a party showstopper!
ReplyDeleteWe had a kale salad with green apple and cheddar cheese this year, and also a roasted squash salad, so they mixed together on the plate, and both were delicious! Room-temperature dishes are good for Thanksgiving buffet-style serving, but some of our group did say they might have preferred the squash dish to be warm!
ReplyDeleteWe will really enjoy your Thanksgiving Salad with that amazing roasted squash, just delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and don't forget to bring your Cookie Recipes to the Holiday Cookie Exchange Link Party!
ReplyDeleteMiz Helen
Yummy and healthy!! Thanks so much for linking up at #AThemedLinkup 4 for All Things Thanksgiving. Shared.
ReplyDelete