Autumn Salad

2 salads
45 min

Sometimes, I just crave a good salad. Especially one with lots of mix-ins. Over the summer, we ate a lot of garden salads to use up the produce we were growing. Now that the garden is about done for the season, our salad consumption has slowed down.Since my salad craving was strong this week, I decided to create a seasonal salad, using autumn ingredients.

Have you tried Sweet Dumpling squash? Have you even heard of it? Maybe I’m late to this party, but Sweet Dumpling squash is a new one for me. I love butternut squash for soups, and I shared my favorite  Maple Pecan Roasted Acorn Squash last week, but I had never even heard of Sweet Dumpling squash until this week.Roasted and sliced, they were a great addition to this Autumn Salad!

To prepare the squash, slice the Sweet Dumplings in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp in the middle. In the cavity, place a little maple syrup and butter. If using delicata squash, slice into 1-inch thick rings, and brush with melted butter.For the Brussels sprouts, cut off the stems, toss in olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.Place both the squash and the sprouts on a foil-lined sheet pan, and roast at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

The dressing is so simple. Just whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl, or to make it even easier, measure them into a mason jar, put the lid on and shake vigorously. Then you can serve the dressing right from the jar.

Choose the mix-ins that you like. I used dried cranberries, dried figs, pecans, roasted pumpkin seeds, and shredded white cheddar cheese.

Start with a bed of arugula on the bottom. Really, arugula is the way to go with this. The peppery flavor of arugula is a perfect contrast to the sweetness of several of the other elements.

Then, layer on all the other ingredients and drizzle with as much of the dressing as you prefer.

This is a hearty salad and will fill you up. Serve it with a bread basket and a glass of Savignon Blanc, and you have a beautiful fall supper that’s a nice departure from the typical comfort food served this time of year.-Niky @ The House on SilveradoPS. I'd love it if you visit my blog for more delicious recipes. :-)

Recipe details
  • 2  salads
  • Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 30 Minutes Total time: 45 min
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Ingredients
For the salad:
  • 6 cups arugula
  • 1 cup roasted chicken sliced
  • 16 Brussels Sprouts
  • 1 Dumpling or Delicata Squash
  • ¼ cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup pecans roughly chopped
  • 6 dried figs cut into quarters
  • ½ cup white cheddar cheese shredded
  • 1 Tbsp butter for cooking the squash
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup for cooking the squash
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil for cooking the Brussels sprouts
For the dressing:
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ⅛ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.
Slice the ends off of the Brussels sprouts, drizzle with a little olive oil, and season them with salt, pepper.
Cut the Dumpling Squash in half, or the Delicata Squash into 1"-thick rings. If using Dumpling Squash, fill the center cavities with maple syrup and butter, If using Delacata, brush lightly with melted butter or olive oil.
If you don't have pre-cooked chicken, you can also place a raw chicken breast on the same sheet pan, drizzled with oil oil, and salt and pepper, and roast with the sprouts and squash.
Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes, checking to make sure chicken is no longer pink in the middle and squash and sprouts are tender.
Whisk the salad dressing ingredients together in a bowl, or shake in a pint-sized mason jar.
Assemble the salad by creating a bed of arugula, adding the chopped figs, dried cranberries, and seeds and pecans.
When chickena and veggies are done, and have cooled enough to handled, slice the chicken and add to top of salad. Slice the Dumpling Squash into rings, and add to salad. Add Brussels sprouts to salad whole.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese and drizzle dressing over the top of all.
Niky | The House on Silverado
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