As a lifelong salad avoider and picky eater, trying to eat more healthy on a regular basis has not been easy. There are tons of things I can make at home, of course, but finding something at restaurants is a different story. Thankfully, there are a lot of good places in San Diego County with delicious options that aren’t also fat bombs — and one of our favorite such restaurants is True Food Kitchen.
It was at True Food that I first had this salad (hey, I’m trying!), and it was so good that I wanted to recreate it at home.
Besides the fact that it’s delicious, I like that this salad is pretty easy to put together. The only thing that requires cooking is the squash, and you can do that at any time — say, roast some squash for dinner one night and use the leftovers for this salad the next day.
The dressing takes about one minute to make, and the rest is really a no-recipe recipe, since you can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you see fit (and make as many servings as you want). If you’re like me, all the fabulous additions will almost make you forget about the lettuce.
Salad with squash, pomegranate and goat cheese (inspired by the harvest chopped salad at True Food)
Roasted butternut squash (instructions below)
Lettuce blend
Pomegranate seeds
Walnut pieces
Crumbled goat cheese
Chopped up apple (I forgot this! But it’s delicious)
Pomegranate-balsamic vinaigrette (instructions below)
Once squash is cool, rinse and spin the lettuce. Place lettuce in the bowl with squash, pomegranate seeds, walnut pieces, crumbled goat cheese and apple. Stir to incorporate, then add a little bit of the dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
To roast butternut squash:
Preheat oven to 450F. Remove skin and seeds from squash and chop the rest of the squash into small pieces (instructions on how to chop a butternut squash here). Place the squash pieces in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and spray lightly with coconut oil (or neutral cooking oil). Roast for 10 minutes, then stir the squash pieces. Bake another 10-15 minutes, until the pieces are tender and starting to char.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before putting any squash on the salad.
To make dressing:
Add 1/2 cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon pomegranate juice (optional) and some salt and pepper to a blender or jar with a tight-fitting lid. Blend or shake until the ingredients emulsify.
Store leftover dressing in the refrigerator and whisk or shake again before using.