Roasted Acorn Squash Salad
Lightly caramelized slices of roasted squash make a tasty and pretty salad, dressed up with toasted almonds, crumbled cheese, and glistening swirls of Reduced Balsamic Vinegar (recipe follows), one of my favorite condiments. Serve this as an antipasto, a first course, or a side dish. With roast meat or poultry, it can be a main course salad too. How about a Thanksgiving leftover salad of roast squash and my roast turkey (page 332) with balsamic reduction and Quince Chutney (page 368)? Any sweet-fleshed winter squash is suitable, but I find the scalloped edges of acorn squash slices look especially nice.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
For Baking the Squash
For Dressing
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°. (As soon as it’s hot, you can toast the slivered almonds for garnishing the salad: spread them on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, shaking them up once or twice, until lightly colored and fragrant. Or toast them while the squash is roasting, or after.)
Step 2
To prepare acorn squash: With a sharp vegetable peeler or paring knife, strip off the peel from the protruding ridges of the squash. You don’t need to peel more than this: leaving the rest of the peel will help the squash to retain its shape and looks nice too. (If you are roasting a smooth squash like butternut, remove all the peel.)
Step 3
With a sharp heavy knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out all the seeds and fibers. Place each half cut side down; trim the ends, then cut semicircular slices of squash, all about 1 inch thick.
Step 4
Put all the pieces in a pile on a large baking sheet, preferably nonstick or lined with parchment, or on a non-stick silicone baking mat. Drizzle the 2 tablespoons oil over the squash, sprinkle on the salt, and toss to coat with the seasonings, then spread the pieces out to lie flat, not touching.
Step 5
Bake about 20 minutes, then flip the pieces over. Bake another 15 minutes or so, until the squash is just tender all the way through (poke with a fork to check) and nicely caramelized on the edges.
Assembling the Salad
Step 6
Let the squash pieces cool on the pan until you’re ready to serve. Arrange them—in a symmetrical design or in a casual pile—on a large serving platter or on individual salad plates, with two or three slices per portion.
Step 7
Refresh them with drizzles of olive oil, sprinkles of salt. Scatter the almond slivers over, and then streaks or swirls of warm balsamic reduction. Finally, crumble bits of cheese all over.
