Autumn Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash

A meal salad, because sometimes you really need one of those.
Not necessarily flimsy, but with a bit of body to it- along with texture, tooth, variety, interest, and flavor.

Of course, depending on portion size, the salad CAN be as a meal, or more of a colorful starter.

I tend to prefer making and serving composed salads rather than the tossed variety- I think they look prettier, and you can also be sure that everyone has the same amount of everything on their dish.

Delicata squash is tender, so there's no need to peel it- one very nice benefit of this squash.
I don't see it often, so I'm pretty sure there's a "when it's gone, it's gone" aspect to this bit of produce.
So: get it while you can.
It brings a slightly earthy and sweet pumpkin flavor, boosted a bit with the maple syrup added prior to roasting.
Obviously it's very likely you'll have extra squash, unless you're making salad for a crowd. The good news is that it makes a nice leftover- in my opinion.

Crisp, sweet and tart come from sliced apple, and some tart chewiness from the dried cherries or cranberries.
Other flavors in the salad include a bit of requisite sharpess and funk from the onion and bleu cheese, while the nuts add a bit of toasty crunch.

Everything is placed on top of a portion of hearty spinach, drizzled with olive oil and aged balsamic, then finished with pinches of flaky salt and freshly ground pepper.

Autumn Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash

2 Delicata squash
1 1/2-2 T (23-30 ml) pure maple syrup
3 T (45 ml) olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
a nice pinch of dried red pepper flakes (optional)

To roast the squash:
Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C) with a rack placed in the center of the oven.
Cut the ends off the squash, halve crosswise, then lengthwise so that you have quarters. Scoop out the seeds and pulp, then slice into pieces between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Toss the half rounds of squash on a sheet pan with sides along with the maple syrup, olive oil, a large pinch of salt, black pepper to taste, and red pepper if desired.
Roast the squash 20-30 minutes, until cooked, shaking the pan a few times and rotating the pan after about 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely.


For the salad:
baby spinach (as an idea, 5 oz/140 or so grams could serve 2-5)
sliced green onion 
roasted Delicata squash (above)
dried cherries or cranberries
crisp apple, sweet and tart (Jazz, Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp)
aged balsamic, thick and syrupy
extra virgin olive oil
flaky sea salt (Maldon or fleur de sel, for example)
freshly cracked/ground black pepper
toasted chopped nuts: hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts
bleu cheese, one you like, albeit a bit more delicate than strong so as not to overpower


Place a portion of spinach on each plate, and sprinkle with green onion. Top with several slices of roasted squash, followed by cherries or cranberries, sliced and "cubed" apple. Drizzle a spoon of olive oil (2t-1T/10-15ml) and a spoon of balsamic vinegar (1t -1 1/2t or 5-8ml) over each of the salads, then sprinkle each with a bit of salt and pepper. Add a shower of nuts, and finally crown with bleu cheese, either a small slice or crumbled, and serve.