Fall Harvest Salad

This salad is simply divine and screams all things FALL!

This beautiful salad begins with roasted butternut squash, red onions, homemade croutons, pistachios, and crumbled sage tossed together with red leaf lettuce and a brown butter vinaigrette. Even if you are not a huge squash fan, I encourage you to try it.

We will be roasting the squash with olive oil and kosher salt to bring out a sweet buttery flavor. The homemade croutons are dressed in Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, and olive oil for a savory crunchy bite.  And perhaps my favorite part, the dressing.  A simple yet deep vinaigrette that is complex and oh so perfect for the season. The colors make for such a stunning presentation.

Okay let’s get started!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and chopped into bite size pieces
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Half a loaf of day-old sourdough bread (artisan style is my favorite)
• 1 Bunch of red leaf lettuce
• 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
• 1 tbsp. shallot, minced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 6 sage leaves
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

Roasted BUTTERNUT Squash 

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, add the squash and sage leaves. Now drizzle on olive oil generously. Sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt.
3. 
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Stir halfway through baking. The end result will look like this.
5. A nice golden caramel color.
6. Set aside to cool.

CROUTONS 

(Can be made a day ahead)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut half the loaf into bread slices and then into bite size pieces.
3. Lay out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Put the bread on, sprinkle generously with olive oil, salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning. Mix. 
5. Now bake for about 15 minutes, stirring halfway.
6. The goal is a light golden brown. Do not overbake as they will get harder when cooled. Set aside or store in an airtight bowl until ready to use.

BROWN-BUTTER VINAIGRETTE 

1. In a small bowl or mason jar add the shallot, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar. Let sit for 15 minutes.
2. While the onions are macerating lets start the butter.
3. This is a very important step but if you mess up its ok, just throw it away and try again! To make the brown butter we will heat a saucepan on medium heat.
4. Add the butter and store. We want to melt the butter and get it to a very light brown. It can burn quickly so keep all your attention here.
5. As the butter is cooking, stir frequently and just watch for it to start to turn color. As soon as it starts to change, pull it off the heat and put it into the bowl with the vinegar and shallot.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I usually do about 1/8 tsp of each.

ASSEMBLY

1. Now that we have most of the ingredients prepped. Get the red onions sliced and toss in a large mixing bowl. Add half of the croutons and half of the vinaigrette.
2. Now pull the sage leaves off the baking sheet and crumble into the bowl.
3. Chop or tear the lettuce into 1/2-inch slices and add to the bowl.
4. Next goes the squash, remaining croutons, pistachios, and the other half of the vinaigrette.
5. Toss together well and plate on individual plates or one large platter for a lovely presentation.
6. ENJOY the season!