You’d think I’d be sick of orange foods by now. Between the sweet potatoes and the butternut squash and the candy corn carrots, my skin should have a nice, fake-tan hue by now. However, I just can’t get enough. Here’s a roundup of my orange/yellow recipes so far:
- Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Sweet Potato Mash
- Butternut Squash Tart
- Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Salad
- Sweet Potato Soup
It’s a good thing this week’s CSA was filled with plenty of greens to balance me out!
That’s right, everything is cyclical and we’re back to those Spring greens. All in good time though – these are perfect to balance out all the pie, cakes, and cookies that are sure to come the next few weeks. In this week’s Three Rivers CSA, we received:
- spinach (as seen above)
- head lettuce (2)
- carrots
- little white turnips
- butternut squash
Next week I’ll use the greens. For now, color me orange because I had a backup of butternuts to roast!
Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad
Keywords: roast salad side entree vegetarian vegan gluten-free fall winter
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 medium or 2 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
Dressing
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Fresh black pepper and sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Add squash cubes and toss to coat. Pour squash onto a foil-lined baking pan and spread out evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally. Once finished, set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, add quinoa and 2 cups water to a small sauce pot. Sprinkle generously with salt and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for approximately 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork and cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, cooled butternut squash, slivered almonds, green onions, and parsley. In a small bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients and pour over salad in small amounts, tossing to coat and stopping when salad is entirely coated. Serve at room temperature and eat cold the next day!
This salad combines a few of my favorite things – quinoa (I eat plenty of quinoa!), winter squash, slivered almonds and green onion. The slight hint of brown sugar and balsamic create a partnership in this salad. Sweet and tart balance, and the quinoa carries the flavors together in one vessel. The crunch of the green onion and almonds again balance the soft butternut squash and quinoa.
The perfect balance for the perfect salad!
Question: What’s your favorite orange food (naturally orange or…you know…artificially orange 
)?
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Looks delicious, I love butternut squash in salads.
My favourite orange food is a carrot because I eat a ton of them with everything. Salads, Broccoli, cauliflower and carrots steamed, carrots in stew etc. I like carrots more than most fruits. I do like an orange from time to time though~