Roasted Squash And Arugula Salad With Pecans Bacon And Goat Cheese Food

ROASTED SQUASH SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Slice acorn squash into rounds about 1 inch thick. Slice butternut squash into about 1-inch chunks. Slice kabocha squash into half-moon slices, also about 1 inch thick. Spread the squash out onto a sheet tray, making sure they are in a single layer and slightly spaced out; use two sheet trays if necessary. Drizzle all the squash with the honey and half the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast until soft but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Core Brussels sprouts and cut into quarters. Spread them out on a sheet pan, drizzle with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until slightly tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Spread pepitas out on a sheet tray. Sprinkle with salt and lightly toast until they pop and are a light brown, 6 to 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin seed oil and lemon juice. Lightly dress the arugula leaves with the mixture.
• To assemble, place dressed arugula on a large platter, then arrange squash and Brussels over the arugula. Sprinkle with pepitas and pomegranate seeds and garnish with shaved Parmesan.

ROASTED SQUASH AND ARUGULA SALAD WITH PECANS, BACON, AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss the pecans with a little canola oil and sea salt, and roast until fragrant, about 7 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and seed the squash and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Toss with a little canola oil on two baking sheets (do not crowd) and sprinkle with more of the sea salt. When the pecans are done, remove from the oven, raise the temperature to 425°F and roast the squash until it's soft and the edges are deep brown. While the squash roasts, cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and fry it up in a large skillet. You may need to do this in two batches, pouring off the fat (be sure to save it!) in-between. Drain the bacon on paper towels or on a brown paper bag. Keep the pan hot and make sure there are about 6 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan. Add the shallots and saute over medium heat until they soften. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar. Swirl to combine. Add a few turns of the pepper mill's worth of fresh black pepper. The salad can be served now, with the ingredients still warm, or at room temperature. To assemble: In a large bowl, toss the dressing with the squash and bacon. Add several large handfuls of the arugula. Strip about three or four sprigs of thyme leaves into the bowl and add the pecans (which should be broken into pieces if they're not already.) Toss gently. Dot with the goat cheese (you may not need all of it) and serve.

ROASTED SQUASH

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C.
• Slice the squash into 3/8 inch/3/4 cm half-moons. Toss with the olive oil to coat. Arrange in slightly overlapping rows on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter over the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Dot the squash with the butter, then bake, turning halfway through roasting, until the squash is soft with slightly candied brown edges, 30 minutes.

GARLIC ROASTED SUMMER SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Trim the ends from the squash, and cut each squash in half lengthwise. Cut the halves in half again crosswise, to make 4 pieces; cut those pieces in half twice more the long way, to make 16 short spears from each squash. Toss the squash with olive oil and garlic in a bowl; place into a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
• Roast the squash until the spears and garlic start to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Check the squash after 5 minutes, and add time in 2- to 3-minute intervals to avoid burning.