Acorn Squash & Kale Salad with Walnut Dressing

I was inspired to pair the pomegranate arils with acorn squash after seeing this recipe, and I'm so glad I discovered this flavor combo.  The pomegranate arils provide a slight crunchy-juicy quality that brightens the sweet, earthy acorn squash flavors.  Kale goes great with both of these components and allows for you to massage the dressing into the leaves well in advance, so you can do prep at the beginning of the week and have everything ready to go when you're hungry for lunch. 

The flavors all harmonize wonderfully, and the walnut dressing adds extra pizzazz.  I had never thought of pureeing nuts for a salad dressing until I saw this recipe, which I modified after tasting because the original was WAY too vinegar-y.

I ate this salad with quinoa on the side (mixed with some spicy cilantro-peanut chutney).  Later in the week, I did a spin on the original by mixing in turmeric rice with everything and used black eyed peas instead of chickpeas as the legume component.  

Nutrition Highlight: Kale

Dark, leafy greens, such as kale, chard, spinach, and beet greens are loaded with nutrients.  Kale in particular is jam packed with multiple vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin A, C, and K.  

While reading a kale article on WebMD, I was shocked to see that 1 cup of chopped kale (only 33 calories) has 206% of one's daily vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and 684% of vitamin K.  I knew kale was a "super veg," but didn't realize the extent of its "superness." Since 1 cup provides an excess of vitamins A,C, and K, you'll still get lots of health benefits by just adding a small handful of kale to your sandwich, green salad, quesadilla, or brothy soup.

Fights Cancer
Kale is rich in vitamin K which has been shown to help fight cancer.  Studies show that vitamin K makes cancer cells break down.  

Kale is also in the cruciferous family, which is known for its cancer-fighting properties that are at their peak in the vegetable's raw state.  

Why does cooking reduce kale's anti-cancer properties? 
Cooking denatures the enzyme that converts the cruciferous glucosinolate compound into the cancer fighting isothiocyanate compound.  However, by eating some raw cruciferous vegetables in the same meal with the cooked, you'll get the enzyme necessary to break down the glucosinolates as explained by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. in this Huffpost article. 

Conversely, lightly cooking kale helps with the absorption of beta carotene (plant vitamin A), so raw or cooked, eating kale is a win-win.

Good for the Eyes
Kale is rich in the carotenoid antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which get converted into vitamin A and are great for your eyes.  Eat kale to keep those cataracts at bay! 

Cooking Tip

Massage kale for a tastier salad.

If you want to enjoy your kale raw, massaging it will break down the cellulose and mellow kale's bitter flavor.  You can massage a bunch of kale in advance for use throughout the week in sandwiches, tacos, or salads. 

Planning on making a raw kale salad?

• Massage kale, plain, then toss with dressing later.

• Or massage kale with salt and olive oil and then add some lemon juice at the end for a simple salad. 

• Or massage any homemade vinaigrette into the leaves.  

How does one massage kale?

Massaging takes about 1-2 minutes. 

1) Put chopped kale into a bowl and scrunch with your hands. TJ's pre-washed and pre-chopped kale makes prep very easy.

2) You have 3 options: massage it plain, massage with salt and/or olive oil, or massage with a dressing.  Keep scrunching until the leaves wilt, turn dark green (as seen above) and taste less bitter.  Curly kale tends to wilt faster than lacinato/dino kale.

3) One technique I have yet to try is tossing kale with olive oil or dressing and letting it sit overnight for a slower, but less messy, wilting process.

I prefer TJ's ready-to-use curly kale for salads because there aren't as many stems included. I think the stems are better when they are steamed, or roasted for 5 minutes on the stovetop in a hot cast iron skillet. 

TJ's ready-to-use lacinato kale is perfect for cooking.  Use it in stir fries with red cabbage, quick sautés with garlic, or as an addition to soup.

Acorn Squash & Kale Salad with Walnut Dressing
Printable Recipe

This salad highlights fall's bounty and will excite your taste buds! It can easily be increased in size and adapted to incoporate what you have on hand.  Some of the twists that I've enjoyed: spinach or arugula instead of kale, black eyed-peas instead of chickpeas, and turmeric rice tossed with the beans and dressing instead of having quinoa on the side. 

Salad
1 acorn squash (won't use it all), sliced into 1/2" thick half moons 
olive oil and spices (like cinnamon) for roasting

1/2 c cooked chickpeas*
a few handfuls of pre-chopped kale (about 2 c, not packed)
heaping 1/3 c pomegranate arils (for texture and color)
*about 3 T per salad
1/2 c chopped red cabbage (for texture and color)

1/2 c brown rice cooked with turmeric (opt), or
quinoa for a side

Walnut Dressing

1/2 c walnuts

1 T molasses 

1 T white wine vinegar 

1 T olive oil

1/2 tsp (a squeeze) Dijon mustard

3 T water

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp turmeric (color)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cardamom 

Process

1. Rinse the squash and then cut cross-wise with a meat cleaver into circles. Cut these circles in half and toss with 1/2 T olive oil and some cinnamon or just salt and pepper.  Spread out on a lined cookie sheet and roast at 400º for 15 minutes, then flip and roast for another 10-15 minutes, until browned. (Total cooking time: 25-30 min.)

2. While the squash is roasting, make the dressing by puréeing everything in a food processor.  It makes about 1 c and will keep for a while, about 2-3 weeks in the back of the fridge.

3. In a medium bowl, massage the kale with some dressing (about 2 T) and then mix the beans (and rice if using) with about 2 T of dressing, or enough for a good coating. 

4. Put a handful of kale down on a plate, place 2-3 half-moons of acorn squash on top, creating a circle (the number of wedges depends on the size of the squash), then put half of the chickpeas in the middle. Sprinkle with cabbage and pomegranate arils.  Repeat process. Serves 2. I recommend serving with quinoa mixed with cilantro chutney and a side of fruit.

5. To-go instructions: First place kale in a container, then the chickpeas tossed lightly with the red cabbage, then the squash cut into bite sized pieces (about 1/2 c), and finally the pomegranate arils.

*Note on chickpeas: I did 1/2 c dry which makes 1 1/2 c cooked and froze the rest.