mela's fall salad
This one of the first things we make when the seasons change and fall produce starts to pop up at the farmer’s market. If a salad could be cozy, this would be the one. This salad is also highly adaptable depending on your favorite fall fruits and veggies and what’s available.
Our general formula for our fall salad =
your favorite greens +
roasted starchy fall vegetable (we love sweet potatoes or any type of winter squash) +
1 serving fall fruit (we love apples, pears, persimmon, pomegranates, grapes) +
toasted nut or seed of choice (we love pumpkin seeds, pecans, and hazelnuts)
mela’s fall salad
serves 4-8
Ingredients
1 small (~1.5 pounds) butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 4 cups); or substitute 2 sweet potatoes or winter squash of choice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
8-10 cups packed leafy greens of your choice (such as arugula, baby kale, romaine, spinach, little gems, or a combination of any of these)
1 large or 2 small apples, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or halved pecans
apple cider dijon vinaigrette
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 F degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper for easier clean up. Directly on the pan, toss squash or sweet potato with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast until the squash is tender and lightly browned, tossing occasionally, ~25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the salad dressing, slice the apple and toast the seeds or nuts in a skillet or oven.
Combine the greens, roasted squash (or sweet potato), nuts/seeds, sliced apple and salad dressing (start with ~1/4 cup and add more as needed). Enjoy immediately!