Sometimes I feel like salads need a bit of a rebrand.

For example, when I told Mr Man I was making one for dinner, let’s just say he wasn’t exactly thrilled.

But midway through the meal, he stopped eating and looked at me.

“This is SO good – when you said we’re having a salad for dinner, I was kinda dreading it, but this is soo good – and the goat’s cheese, it just works!”

It’s all in the balance – crunchy, soft, crispy, creamy, funky spicy, sweet, salty, bitter, warm, and cool.

A bed of kale tossed in a pomegranate molasses dressing, topped with roasted warm-spiced butternut squash segments, creamy goat’s cheese, fruity fig, crunchy apples, crispy toasted pumpkin seeds and pops of pomegranate arils.

Oh – it’s also super easy to throw together.

You don’t really have to do a lot – prep and roast the squash, toast the pumpkin seeds, mix together a quick dressing and massage the kale. The rest is just assembly work.

The perfect salad to let all of the autumn harvest shine.

Enjoy,

-Kay

Ingredients

Salad base and toppings

• 150g kale
• Arils from 1/2 a pomegranate
• 75g goat’s cheese
• 1 apple (I used half a granny smith and half a pink lady)
• 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 fig

Butternut squash

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1tsp cumin powder
• 1tsp paprika powder
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (or powder if you don’t have them whole)
• 1/4 clove powder
• Chilli flakes to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 2tbsp maple syrup

Dressing

• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 shallot, finely diced
• 1 tsp honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Butternut squash

1. Preheat the oven to 200°.
2. Halve your butternut squash, use a spoon to remove the seeds then slice into 2cm segments.
3. Add the butternut squash, all the spices and seasonings, olive oil and maple syrup to a large bowl. Toss to combine before placing on a baking tray and roasting for 25-30mins until cooked through and slightly charred.

Pumpkin seeds

1. Place these on another baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt.
2. Add to the oven in the last 3-4 mins of cooking the butternut squash to toast.

Dressing

1. Add all the ingredients into a small jar, and tightly screw on the lid.
2. Shake well to combine and set aside for flavours to mingle.
3. Taste and adjust as required.

Kale

1. Use a knife to remove the thick, main stem from the centre of the leaves.
2. Slice into 1 cm long strips to shred.
3. Add to a large bowl, pour over half the dressing then massage with your hands for 3-4 minutes – this will break down the tough fibres and really infuse the flavours from the dressing too.

Assembly

1. In a large serving bowl, layout the prepped kale.
2. Top with prepped butternut squash.
3. Rip cheese into chunks and evenly distribute.
4. Finely slice the apple, quarter the fig and lay over the top.
5. Sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and pumpkin seeds.
6. If desired, pour over the remaining dressing, toss to combine and dig in!

Tips:

• This salad can be eaten at room temperature with the butternut squash warm (my preference) but also works as a cold salad and can be prepped in advance and stored in the fridge. I would just squeeze some lemon over the apples to stop them from browning.
• If you’re not a fan of goat’s cheese, parmesan would also work well.