Take advantage of in-season butternut squash, beetroot, citrus, and lettuce by making this delicious salad in the fall or winter! This salad is extra special, as I use homegrown lettuce and butternut squash. Given the warmer than average weather on the east coast, I have lettuce (still!) growing in mid January!

Start by roasting the beets to bring out their sweetness. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in individual foil packets for about 1 hour, depending on the size of the root. Besides bringing a pop of color and sweet, earthy flavor to the salad, beets are loaded with nutrients and antioxidants. Save the beet greens or tops when using home grown or locally sourced beets. They, too, are loaded with nutrition and can be used in place of spinach or kale in omelettes and stir fry.

Next, roast butternut squash. I used a butternut squash that I harvested back in August. Peel, remove seeds, and dice into bite-sized cubes. We’re going to roast the butternut squash as well to enhance its sweetness and nuttiness. I’ve also used delicata squash in the past. Scoop out the seeds, leave the skin on, make slices, and roast.

Put the your lettuce of choice on a nice platter and start spreading the cooled roasted beets and roasted butternut squash. Then, add on some orange supremes, or segments, sliced shallots, goat cheese, olives, and walnuts. Feel free to make it your own by using different or additional seasonal vegetables.

The dressing for this salad is super easy too, and much better than anything you’ll find in a bottle at the store. The combination of lemon juice, orange zest and juice, tahini, honey, and olive oil pairs well with the earthiness and sweetness of the beets and squash.

Beet and Butternut Squash Salad

Recipe by Renaissance DanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Calories

312

kcal

Protein

8

g

Fat

20

g

Carbohydrates

26

g

Ingredients

• 1 bag mixed salad greens*

• 3 medium beets, scrubbed and with tops removed*

• 1 butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and diced

• 1 tbsp + 3 tsp olive oil

• 2 oranges, cut into supremes

• 1 shallot, sliced

• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved

• 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled

• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

• 
  Dressing

• Zest of 1 orange + leftover juice from supremes

• juice of 1 lemon

• 2 tbsp tahini paste

• 2 tbsp honey

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place individual beet in the middle of a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle on 1 tsp olive oil, and wrap foil over beet. Repeat for each beet. Place foil-wrapped beets on cookie sheet, and roast for 1 hour.
• Place butternut squash on a foil-lined baking sheet and coat with 1 tbsp olive oil. Bake at 375º for 25 minutes, or until caramelized and fork-tender.
• Let beets and squash cool to room temperature. Double gloved, peel each beet and slice horizontally on a paper plate. I strongly suggest covering the work surface with an additional 3-4 sheets of wax paper. The beet juice will get everywhere, and be nearly impossible to remove.
• Reserve the zest of 1 orange. Cut oranges into supremes by removing the skin and the white pith and making segments, cutting along the membranes towards the center.
• Once segmented, squeeze juice from the remaining flesh and membranes into a small bowl.
• Placed salad greens onto a large platter. Sprinkle on cooled roasted beet slices and cooled butternut squash.
• Distribute orange segments, shallots, olives, goat cheese, and walnuts around the platter.
• Dressing
• Combine orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest, tahini, and honey in a small bowl or measuring cup.
• Whisk in olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

• Feel free to use romaine lettuce, spring mixes, baby kale, arugula, etc. I used some of my homegrown lettuce, which is still growing in January!
• I used store-bought beets. If using homegrown beets or beets from a farmer’s market, save the greens and use like swiss chard in stir fry, omelettes, etc.