Spinach and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Citrus Dressing

I like butternut squash for two reasons, oh make it three.  It is delicious, nutritious and I do not have to store it in the refrigerator.  It keeps for weeks on my kitchen table without me worrying if it will rot.  I can microwave, boil or roast them in the oven.  Not a prima donna of a vegetable this butternut squash.  

Not only are they convenient to have and prepare, butternut squash has many poly-phenolic antioxidants and vitamins.  It has more vitamin A than that found in a pumpkin.  It is rich in B-complex of vitamins like folates, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-2, thiamine and pantothenic acid.  Knowing this makes me buy this squash every time I go to Aldis Grocery store where they cost less than 2 dollars each.  

 For this salad, I decided to roast the neck of the squash and used the main body for another dish.  This part of the squash is easy to peel and has no seeds at all.  I actually used the Turkish spice rub I posted previously in a past post to flavor the squash and roasted it in the oven even without any oil to adhere to my plant based approach to eating.  I used the roasted butternut squash for my spinach salad which I doused with a plant based citrus dressing.  With walnuts, cranberries and red onions, the resulting salad was very satisfying in itself.  It is equally good in complementing the grilled salmon we had that night as a side salad.

Spinach and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Citrus Dressing

4 servings

Roasted Butternut Squash  

• the neck part of the butternut squash, peeled, cut in half and then to pieces
• salt and pepper
• 2 tsp Turkish Spice Rub (optional)

Citrus Dressing

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp chopped dry thyme leaves
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Salad

• 1 small bag of spinach, prewashed
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• Roasted Butternut Squash

To roast the butternut squash.  Place salt and pepper on both sides of the butternut slices.  Then sprinkle on both sides of the butternut slices the Turkish Spice Rub if using.  Roast in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes.

To prepare the citrus dressing.  Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a small jar with a lid.  Shake with the lid on till the mixture is thoroughly mixed.

To assemble the salad.  Place a bed of spinach on the plate top with the red onion slices, walnuts, dried cranberries and roasted butternut squash.  Douse the citrus dressing over the salad when ready to eat it.  Enjoy!