Mustard Marinated Kale Salad with Grapes, Feta, and Honeynut Squash
This is the perfect fall salad. If you make only one of my recipes this season, I hope it’s this one! Here’s why this recipe is on repeat in our house all November long: honeynut squash is the ultimate fall squash; simply roasted it has the most fully bodied, rich, sweet, and creamy, squashy goodness that practically screams, “autumn time!” But beyond the squash, this recipe features all the best seasonal salad ingredients in a new way. The mustard vinaigrette is savory and balances really well with the salinity of the feta and the sweetness of the squash and grapes. That same vinaigrette tenderizes the kale so it’s not bitter, and the whole thing is very easy to make in advance and take to work, a potluck, or this year’s Friendsgiving event. Dressed up for a party or down for lunch at home, this salad is hearty, healthy, and sure to bring all the best fall vibes to your dining table.
One thing to keep in mind with this salad is the marinade. Kale is a very hearty green, so it really benefits from “massaging” the dressing into the leaves. This only takes a minute or two of gently mixing the dressing into the leaves with your hands, but it is absolutely worth the time. Also, for a nicer tasting salad, please be sure to cut the ribs off the kale. Most pre-packaged kale salads that I’ve seen include the ribs, so I recommend that you go the old fashioned route, and buy a whole bunch of kale. It’s a lot easier to wash and remove the ribs on a full stalk of kale than on individual cut pieces.
A final note on this salad. You can massage the dressing into the kale up to three hours before serving, but any longer and the salad can get soggy. If you’re taking the salad to an event and need longer than three hours, simply make up the salad, leave the dressing off, and then massage in the vinaigrette about 15 minutes before serving.
Mustard Marinated Kale Salad with Grapes, Feta, and Honeynut Squash- Serves 2 as an Entree or 4 as a side
Ingredients:
1 large bunch kale (any variety), washed, rib removed, and cut into bite sized pieces
1 honeynut squash,* seeded, peeled, and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 oz. crumbled feta
1 cup grapes, washed and halved
2TBS. olive oil + more for roasting squash
1 TBS. dijon mustard
1.5 TBS. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. kosher salt + more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Put the squash in a casserole dish or baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil to coat (about 1TBS.) and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the squash is golden on the outside and very tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl or mason jar, combine 2TBS olive oil, the mustard, vinegar, maple syrup, 1/4 tsp. of kosher salt, and several grinds of pepper. Mix the dressing well with a fork.
Massage the dressing into the kale. Place the kale in a large serving bowl and pour all of the dressing on top. Gently massage the dressing into all the leaves with your hands for a minute or two. Allow the kale to marinate for 15 minutes or up to 3 hours.
Finish the salad. After the kale has finished marinating, add the cooled squash, grapes, feta, and red onion. Toss to combine and serve.
*If you cannot find honeynut squash, you can substitute about 2 cups of butternut or any hearty winter squash that you prefer.
Vinaigrette recipe adapted from Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook
