This year, I volunteered for the Green Heart Project as a Green Heart Buddy. Even though I have a lot of food-related knowledge, I am pretty much clueless when it comes to gardening. I have attempted and failed to raise a few plants of my own, one of which was stolen and the other one is still somehow surviving. Luckily for me, my role as a Green Heart Buddy gave me the opportunity to learn alongside the kiddos in each lesson and really learn the process of growing your own food. I got to see this butternut squash salad made from start to finish, which is really satisfying for me.
do you know the three sisters?
One of the lessons that truly resonated with me was the Three Sisters lesson. In this lesson, the kiddos and I both learned about how certain plants can work together and help each other grow. In this case, the Three Sisters are corn, beans, and squash. The corn is the tallest sister, so the beans wrap around the corn for support. Since the squash grows on the ground, the leaves of the beans and corn help provide shade to the squash. I learned a lot from this lesson and now, after a few months, I get to eat the results.
The Green Heart Project harvested over 50 pounds of butternut squash, so I had to take advantage and cook some of that bounty. Since it’s one hot South Carolina summer, I think this refreshing salad is a perfect way to utilize an ingredient that is usually used in heartier dishes. This recipe is inspired by a recipe I found on Pinterest, but with a few tweaks of my own.
What you need
Servings: 4
For the Butternut squash salad:
- 1 Butternut squash
- 2 cups kale
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup roasted and salted pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 T salt
- 1 T pepper
- 2 t paprika
- 1 t chili powder
For the dressing:
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 T dijon mustard
- 2 T shallot
- 1 T maple syrup
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 2 t olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Get Cookin’
To start, preheat your oven to 400. While the oven is preheating, peel and seed the butternut squash. It takes a little bit of elbow grease, but it’s all worth it in the end.
Once the butternut squash is peeled and seeded, dice it into 1 inch squares. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but try to make sure they are all the same size so they cook evenly.
Spread the cubes on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and season with the salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. Throw it in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the squash is fork tender (I actually poke it with a fork to test it).
While the squash is roasting away, start the dressing. Combine the apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and shallots in a small sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce for 5 minutes. Boiling it will make it thicker and also get rid of any harsh onion taste from the shallots.
Let the dressing cool for a few minutes and whisk in the remaining ingredients. The first thing I thought of when I tasted this dressing was that it tasted like a fancier and lighter honey mustard, so I’m about it.
When the butternut squash is fork tender, take it out of the oven and let it cool. While it’s cooling, you can mix together the rest of your salad. I was just making this for myself, so I just put it on a plate, but if you’re making it for a big group, definitely serve it in a salad bowl.
Add all the ingredients to the bowl and toss with the dressing. I would pour the dressing a little bit at a time so that you don’t over do it and make it soggy. Enjoy this as a side dish for dinner or as a light lunch.
