Absolute Wellness Center

If you’re still trying to reset from the holidays but the thought of an icy smoothie gives you chills (and let’s be real, that makes sense in the dead of winter), you’re in luck! I’ve been making this salad about as frequently as my Greek summer staple and it checks all the boxes. My favorite way to serve it is with the squash still warm (makes the goat cheese melty) and a just grilled steak on top. But, the kale will hold up dressed into the next day or two and longer if you keep the dressing separate. You can sub in spinach in lieu of kale but fair warning it’s not nearly as sturdy.

Ingredients

Salad
5 cups (1 1/2 lbs) cubed butternut squash, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
10 oz lacinato kale
1 1/4 cups pomegranate arils
4 oz goat cheese or feta, crumbled

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp minced shallot
2 1/2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

For the butternut squash: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash in a mound on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to evenly coat in oil. Spread into an even layer.

Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes then remove from oven and toss. Return to oven and bake until tender, about 10 minutes longer. Allow to cool several minutes before adding to salad.

For the Salad: In a large salad bowl toss together spinach, squash, 1/2 of the pecans and 1/2 of the pomegranate arils.

Drizzle with desired amount of dressing and gently toss. Sprinkle with remaining pecans, pomegranate arils and goat cheese and serve immediately.

For the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and season with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper). Process until well emulsified.

Enjoy and let me know if you tried it out!