Harvest Moon Roasted Delicata Squash and Kale Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 delicata squash, halved lengthwise and seeded, sliced into ½-inch segments

  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (optional)

  • ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • about 6 leaves of lacinato kale, thinly sliced

  • 1 cup cooked farro* (see note) (optional)

  • 1 gala apple, diced

  • ¼ cup dried cranberries (optional)

  • ¼ cup pepitas, walnuts, or pecans

maple tahini sauce:

  • ¼ cup tahini

  • garlic clove

  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup

  • 3 tablespoons warm water, more as needed

  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Preheat oven to 325F and set ½ cup walnut/pepitas/pecan halves on a medium-large rimmed baking sheet. Toast nuts on the center rack of the oven for 7 minutes -- they’ll be aromatic and deeply golden. Immediately after the nuts come out of the oven, place the nuts in a small bowl and add tamari, cinnamon, and smoked paprika (optional!). Toss nuts to coat evenly and set aside.

Increase oven temperature to 400F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (for easy clean up). On the sheet pan toss the delicata half moons with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange half moons on the sheet so they are not touching or overlapping. Roast for 20 minutes.

Make the tahini sauce: In a small bowl, combine the tahini, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, water and pinches of salt and pepper and stir. If the sauce is too thick, stir in more water until it is a drizzable consistency. If it’s too thin, let it sit for several minutes to thicken.

Meanwhile, remove stems from the kale and tear/chop leaves into bite sized pieces. Squeeze juice from half of the lemon over the kale and drizzle in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Massage kale with your hands until the leaves tenderize, about 2 minutes.

Slice the apple and toss the apple slices with the juice from the other ½ of the lemon.

Combine everything in your serving bowl, pouring the dressing over top and tossing to coat everything evenly. Serve and enjoy!