An easy peasy appetizer salad, which most people will not have had before. The dressing packs a full flavor punch, and the mix of hot and cold, and tender and crunchy works really well. You could also have this for an easy and quick lunch for one, perhaps with the addition of a poached egg.
When coming up with the idea for this salad, I originally thought of adding hot sauce to cut the richness of the almond butter but grabbed the grain mustard instead. I am glad I did as it definitely contributed to the texture of the salad and the tang of the dressing. The dressing contains very little oil and you could probably omit it completely for a healthier version of this salad. I added walnut oil just to up the nuttiness factor of the dish.
It also came to me as I was making this that, should you not be a fan of butternut squash, you could substitute beets for the squash for an equally delicious salad and maybe use pumpkin seed oil and pepitas instead of walnut oil and crushed almonds. Something to think about; I would imagine that there are a myriad of combinations.
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into bite sized chunks
2 bunches collard greens, center stems removed and thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into 8 pieces
1 Tbsp almond butter
1 Tbsp grain mustard
2 tsps boiling water
1 tsp walnut oil (can be omitted)
1 tsp vegetable or olive oil
Salt to taste
2 Tbsps crushed almonds for a garnish if so desired
Preheat oven to 300.
Toss the butternut squash and the onion in the teaspoon of olive oil and salt lightly. You want a very thin sheen of oil on each piece just so they don't stick. You could also add a bit of curry powder or cumin if you wanted to amp up the flavor; I kept my version pretty basic but am considering curry next time around.
Place the squash chunks and onion pieces in a single layer on a foil lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, turning the vegetables at the 10 minute mark. This should help dry them out a bit.
After 20 minutes, raise the oven temperature to 450 and blast the pieces for about 2 minutes on each side so as to get some color and crunch. Keep an eye on this part as both the onion and the butternut go from caramelized and golden delicious to bitter and trash bound in a second.
While the squash and onion are cooking, make your dressing. First, combine the almond butter with the boiling water and whisk well to loosen the almond butter. Then, add the mustard and the walnut oil (if using) and stir to combine.
As soon as the squash and onion come out of the oven, toss the collard greens with the dressing and then tip in the hot vegetables and toss again. The heat from the squash and onion pieces will cause the collard greens to wilt slightly and deliciously.
Sprinkle with crushed almonds if you so desire and dig in.