roasted butternut squash and apple salad

This salad features two ingredients that are absolutely everywhere this time of year--squash and apples. While squash can look like a troublesome ingredient, it's completely worth the extra effort.

When you're tired of stuffing squash in pastries, pastas, and eating it as a side dish, a nice salad can be a refreshing new twist. This recipe is simple, but delicious, and really lets the ingredients shine through.

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Serves 2-4

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced + seeds

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 apple, peeled and diced

juice 1/2 lemon or lime

3 cups mixed greens

pepitas (optional)
goat cheese (optional)

dressing

whole grain mustard

red wine vinegar

honey

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Squash at the ready!

Cut off top and bottom of butternut squash. Stand it up and, using a sturdy chef's knife, peel skin off in downwards strokes. (This is a bit of a project, so enlisting someone else to do this part may be a good idea...) Once peeled, cut in half. Scoop  out stringy insides and seeds. Slice and dice squash into bite-sized pieces.

Peeled...

Gizmo being helpful, as usual.

Cut in half.

Getting there...

All cubed up!

Toss diced squash with ~3 tbsp of olive oil, a dash of salt, and 2 tbsp of brown sugar or honey to bring out the sweetness. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Ready to bake!

You could just use pepitas if you're in a rush, but squash comes ready with some awesome seeds, so if you've got the time, you can roast these too. Just sort the pulp from the seeds (it gets messy but just digging in is the best way) and rinse them. Lay them flat in a pan, toss with 1 tsp of oil or some cooking spray and a pinch of salt, and roast them in the oven for 12 minutes. Test for doneness--they should be crispy.

Squash, all baked.

Seeds, done!

Once your squash and seeds are done, pull out of oven and let cool. Peel, core, and dice your apple, then squeeze lemon over it to prevent browning.

Mix one tbsp mustard, one tbsp honey, and 2 tbsp honey. Mix together and taste, adjusting proportions if needed. Whisk in 1/2 cup of olive oil.

Dressing.

Combine ingredients in salad bowl, crumbling goat cheese in if desired.

Toss everything together, and serve.