Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprout Salad

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35 min Prep time: 20min Cook time: 25min

Moxy Thoughts

November 11, 2016 in ,,,

This time of year I pull out all my fall colored scarves, jackets and gloves.  The autumnal colors and warm textures create a sense of comfort and coziness that is so unique to this time of year.  By the way, if you’re looking for incredible new Italian handmade leather gloves, a friend just launched a new site that imports these gorgeous ones, check it out here:  www.beaugant.com.

To me, these are the signs that we are transitioning to the vegetables that thrive during this season, which are hearty, filling and incredibly delicious.  I’m talking about butternut squash, brussels sprouts, carrots, and all the other interesting root or squash type veggies that thrive in cooler temperatures.  The thing I love about these vegetables is that they are perfectly created to partner with some of the spices that are as equally delicious as they are beneficial to most diets, acting as anti-imflamatories and anti-oxidants like cumin, turmeric and cinnamon.

About a month ago, the Moxy kids and I planted butternut squash seeds and carrot seeds in our garden and we are starting to see the leaves broaden and hopefully thrive.  In the meantime, as we wait of our own plants to begin producing these fantastic veggies, we’re shopping at our local farm stand and picking up some of their bounty.  Hopefully, in a few weeks we’ll be sharing recipes that use the ones we grew from our own garden!

Today, we decided we wanted to have comforting foods, but wanted to stay away from feeling like we were eating a heavy meal.  With that as our brief, we created this lovely butternut squash and brussels sprouts salad over kale with a lemon vinaigrette dressing.   Butternut squash is loaded with Vitamin C, fiber and anti-inflammatories; brussels sprouts have tons of Vitamin A and B6 and Kale is a superfood loaded with tons of Vitamins, including the critical Vitamin K – this salad is literally a health bomb on a plate, but the taste is so good you’ll be going back for seconds!  I hope you’ll try this recipe, or a variation of your own, and share the results with us!

 

Ingredients

For the Salad

  • 1 cup lentils
  • 1/2 of a butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 2 cups brussel sprouts, ends trimmed and halved
  • 1 bag of precut, washed kale or 1 1/2 cups kale, washed thoroughly and chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 3 tbsp. parmesan or other favorite cheese

For the Dressing

  • 1 tbsp. grapeseed oil
  • 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • Juice from one lemon
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • Toss cubed squash with 1 tbsp. of oil, salt and pepper in medium bowl and arrange on large cookie sheet, ensuring ample space between cubes so as not to steam the veggies
  • Cook squash in oven approximately 10 minutes
  • While squash is cooking, toss brussels sprouts with oil, salt and pepper in the medium bowl
  • Add brussels sprouts to the cookie sheet and cook another 10 minutes
  • Turn up oven to Hi setting on broiler and cook 2-3 minutes, or until veggies turn slightly brown then remove from oven and let cool
  • While veggies are cooking in oven, boil 2 cups water with a bit of salt
  • Once water is boiling, add lentils and cook approximately 10 minutes or until tender, then drain in colander and rinse with a bit of water
  • Combine well all ingredients for dressing
  • Combine kale with lentils, carrots, brussels sprouts and squash and toss with dressing
  • Top with parmesan or other cheese and serve immediately

The Moxy Mamma

Hi I’m Anna. I’m a mom, wife, full time executive, part time amateur cook and love to be creative whenever I can.

In 2014, my husband received news that he had Type II Diabetes.I’m on a mission to eat great food and create delicious recipes that are packed with flavor instead of added sugar.

Do Good, Eat Great and Put some Moxy on your plate! (more about Anna)