Description
This beautiful salad is perfect for a holiday spread but can be enjoyed any time of year for a healthy, hearty and delicious plant-based meal.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 acorn squash, seeds removed and sliced into wedges
- 1 cup uncooked farro
- 1 cup pomegranate arils or dried cranberries
- 2 medium-sized apples, diced or sliced into very thin wedges
- mixed salad greens, a few handfuls per salad
- optional: pecans, walnuts or pumpkin seeds for topping
For the Tahini Dressing
- 5 tbsp tahini (75 g)
- 3 tbsp water, plus more to reach desired consistency
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- optional: up to 1 tbsp maple syrup for maple tahini dressing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the acorn squash in half and remove the seeds. Slice each half into 1-2 inch thick wedges. Place the wedges on a baking tray (use a bit of cooking spray or a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to prevent sticking). Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
- Roast the squash for 25-30 minutes until you can easily pierce the flesh with a fork. Flipping once half-way through cooking. Once cooked, let sit on the pan until cool enough to handle at which point, peel the skin away from the flesh and discard. Chop each wedge into chunks and set aside.
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the farro according to package directions. If you bought bulk farro, see post above for cooking instructions.
- To make the tahini dressing, whisk the ingredients together in a jar or dish until smooth and creamy. Adding more water slowly, if needed, to adjust the consistency.
- To assemble the salad, prepare serving dishes and start by adding a couple big handfuls of mixed greens to each plate or bowl. Top each serving with equal amounts of the squash, cooked farro, pomegranate and sliced apple.
- Drizzle each salad with desired amount of dressing and top with a sprinkle of pecans, walnuts or pumpkin seeds, if using.
- Serve right away. If there are leftovers, store the dressing separately so the salad doesn’t get soggy or ideally, store all ingredients separately and assemble later as needed.
Notes
The farro, squash and tahini dressing for this salad can be made up to 3 days in advance. The tahini dressing can be made up to 5 days in advance.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 salad
- Calories: 425
- Sugar: 14 g
- Sodium: 54 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 73 g
- Fiber: 10 g
- Protein: 10 g