Lentil, Squash, & Goat Cheese Salad

A hearty winter salad full of roasted squash, lentils, and goat cheese

Butternut squash is one of my favorite winter vegetables and shows up in my cooking at least a couple times a week during the chilly months. Peeling and dicing one can be a pain, so I like to prep it once and use it in a bunch of meals (sometimes you can buy cut-up squash at the grocery store, too). I had a little leftover raw squash from this meal - and I was close to throwing it since it wasn't enough for a full side dish - until I stumbled upon this simple salad recipe. The squash gets roasted with a few savory spices, which helps to balance out its sweetness, before getting tossed with black lentils, baby kale, and goat cheese. If you have more squash than I did, I’d recommend roasting it all in the spices and then saving it for a quick side dish another night. The recipe is super versatile and makes a great use of leftovers, so any nuts, cheese, herbs, or greens you have on hand can be substituted and added. 

Related Recipes:
- Butternut Squash & Sage Soup
- Delicata Squash, Pepita, & Baby Kale Salad
- Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Lentil, Squash, Arugula, & Goat Cheese Green Salad:

• Toss 1-2 c. diced butternut squash with 2 tbsp. olive oil and sprinkle with smoked paprika, ground cumin, and kosher salt.
• Place squash on a sheet pan and roast in a 400F oven for 30 minutes, tossing once, until tender and caramelized.*
• Add 1/4 c. sunflower seeds to the pan and roast for another minute, or until seeds are lightly golden.
• Meanwhile, add 1/2 c. black lentils** to a sauce pot and cover with several cups of water. Season with salt.
• Bring pot to a medium simmer, cover partially with a lid, and cook for 25-35 minutes, or until al dente.
• Drain lentils, rinse with cold water, and add to a large bowl.
• Add in the squash and any spiced oil from the sheet pan and toss with the squash.
• Add in a handful of baby kale,*** 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper and toss to combine.
• Crumble in 2-3 oz. fresh goat cheese and lightly toss again.
• Divide salad onto plates and serve.

Serves two - three (side dish)

*Can be done one day in advance and re-heated before adding to the lentils.
**Green lentils would work too.
***Or any other hearty green.

Squash Ravioli with Shrimp & Bay Scallops

Halloween was a pretty low-key event for me this year - my fiance and I dressed up as a 1920's bootlegger and flapper for our work party but came home in time for trick or treaters. We had a couple friends over for a casual dinner, and since I knew we'd be raiding the candy bowl, I wanted to make something light but still festive. I was hoping for pumpkin ravioli, but the butternut squash tastes great and pairs really well with the seafood and brown butter-sage sauce. The squash cubes can be roasted in advance so that putting the whole thing together is as simple as boiling water after guests arrive. It's a great, easy meal to enjoy on a chilly evening (at least until you get sick of pumpkin).

Squash Ravioli with Shrimp & Bay Scallops:

• Toss 1 c. diced butternut squash with 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Place in a 400F oven for 30 minutes, tossing once or twice with a spatula, until tender and caramelized in some places.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add in 1 lb. pumpkin ravioli.*
• While ravioli is cooking, melt 1/2 stick unsalted butter in a large skillet and add in 6 fresh sage leaves.
• Add in 1/2 lb. rock shrimp and 1/2 lb. bay scallops and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook seafood for 5 minutes, until just cooked through, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Turn up the heat on the butter and let it get lightly brown and nutty.
• Drain the ravioli and add it to the butter, along with the seafood and roasted squash.
• Toss to combine, then divide onto plates and serve.

Serves four

*Or butternut squash. Fresh or frozen is fine, but look to the package for accurate cooking time.

Black Sesame Green Beans

These green beans are one of those all-purpose sides that work well hot or cold, so definitely make twice as much and eat some for leftovers. The beans get blanched and then tossed with a sweet and spicy black sesame paste (seen here) that coats the vegetables and adds tons of flavors. I like to keep the beans a little bit al dente, so that they hold their shape and have a little crunch left. It's a great accompaniment to a piece of fish (like this, this, or this) and both the paste and the beans can be made far in advance of serving.


Black Sesame Green Beans:

• Toast 1 tsp. chopped walnuts and 1 tsp. sunflower seeds in a skillet for 1-2 minutes.
• Add in 1/2 c. black sesame seeds* and continue to toast for about 1 minute, being careful not to burn anything.
• Transfer the mixture to a mortar and pestle** and pound until a sand-like consistency.
• Stir in 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. mirin, 2 tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 tbsp. sesame oil, and 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add in 10 oz. trimmed green beans.
• Cook beans for 5-7 minutes, or until al dente, then drain in a colander.***
• Toss beans with the sesame paste and serve.

Serves four (side dish)

*Can substitute with regular sesame seeds if necessary.

**Or use a food processor.

***If you want to serve the beans as a cold salad, immediately transfer drained beans to a bowl of ice water.