Healthy, filling salad of kale, winter squash, and slices of fuyu persimmons.
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I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We travelled to Portland (Oregon), to see close friends and family and had a wonderfully fun and food-filled week. Now that we're back home, I'm craving salads. The first one I made upon resettling at home was this one that incorporates kale and squash, inspired by a similar salad I saw last year on Food52. It might not rank up there with peanut butter and chocolate, but kale and squash is one of my favorite food combinations, and this time of year when both are in season, it's my favorite kind of salad.
I love the vast array of shapes and colors of squash all jumbled together up on a table at the Farmer's Market. I've played with butternut and acorn squashes for years, but kabocha was a new one for me a couple of years ago when I ran into it in school. Also known in some circles as a Japanese pumpkin, I'd seen it around and had been curious about it, but had never ventured any further than that. For those of you new to kabocha, it has a knobby, dull, greenish-gray skin that hides vibrantly deep yellow flesh.
It can be baked whole or chopped into smaller pieces and roasted. I peel it with a potato peeler, but the skin is thick and hard, so a sharp knife sometimes works better. When baked, kabocha is a drier squash than either the butternut or acorn variety, and more dense reminding me a bit of sweet potatoes; if squash can have a rich flavor, this is surely it. And it may be the sweetest squash I've tried, pairing wonderfully with coconut milk.
For this recipe I chopped the kabocha up into bite-sized cubes, tossed them in olive oil and dusted them with a rub of coffee, chocolate and brown sugar. Coconut sugar works great in this rub too. I roasted them until they were tender.
The coffee flavor added a lot of depth to the kabocha and to the salad.
Feel free to throw apples into the salad instead of persimmons, but if you see some persimmons at the store I recommend them for the juicy contrast they offer to the kabocha. I just sliced one up and tossed it in. If I had some pomegranate seeds, I would have added them too. Next time, I'll make sure I have some on hand.
This is a great salad for your body between the eating holidays of the year when we all consume more sweets, breads, and snacks than we normally do. And it's so easy to make. Enjoy!
More Kale Salads
If you like kale salads 🙋♀️, go check out this farro and kale salad. Warm farro is tossed with ricotta and blue cheeses, topped with grilled kale and plums, and finished with a balsamic vinaigrette. It's fabulous.
And this is a fabulous Asian Winter Salad brightened with blood oranges. It's so healthy and refreshing.
Or make this kale sweet potato salad that includes roasted sweet potato tossed in my homemade chipotle spice rub.
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Kabocha and Kale Salad with Persimmon Slices
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Kabocha and Kale Salad
- 1 kabocha squash
- Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar [url]or make your own ∞https://thewimpyvegetarian.com/my-pantry/brown-sugar/[/url]
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 1 teaspoon cacao nibs
- ¼ teaspoon Hungarian paprika
- 1 bunch kale I used curly purple kale, but any kale works great
- 1 Fuyu persimmon
- ⅓ cup sharp cheddar cheese I used Cabot
- Pumpkin seeds
- Pomegranate seeds
Dressing
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the kabocha squash and chop into bite-sized pieces. Toss in enough olive oil to well coat the pieces. Lay them out on the parchment paper.
- Combine the brown sugar, coffee and cacao nibs together in a spice grinder and grind together for 15 seconds. Sprinkle over the kabocha pieces. Roast for 10 minutes or until tender. Remove and set aside.
- Remove the center stem of the kale leaves and tear the leaves into smaller pieces. Thoroughly wash and dry. Add to a large bowl.
- Slice the fuyu persimmon into slices and add to the bowl along with the cheddar cheese, pumpkin seeds, and pomegranate seeds.
- Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and mix well. Toss the squash in 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Add the rest of the dressing to the salad in the bowl and toss. Add the squash pieces and lightly toss again.
- This is best served while the squash is still warm.
Rosemary
I'd never have thought of a cocoa-coffee rub for Kabocha! It's a new squash to me the past couple years too, my CSA box has it regularly in winter. Last night I roasted in quarters then made carrot-ginger-soup with it -- very delicious but a little grainier than butternut.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Rosemary! A carrot-ginger soup with this sounds perfect! And you're right, it's definitely grainier than butternut. Thicker too.
diabeticFoodie
We're on the same wavelength - I'm cooking a Kabocha squash tonight (with Asian flavors). Love the coffee rub idea!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Kabocha is perfect with Asian flavors!!! Enjoy your soup 🙂
Hannah
Yes to squash and kale! Two of my favorites, as well. I love the idea of a cocoa-coffee rub and since I have a kabocha squash on hand I know what we're having for dinner tonight. Thank you for sharing!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Yay! I hope you like it, Hannah. The coffee-cacao rub definitely make a difference too 🙂 Enjoy!!
TasteFood
Wonderful seasonal salad, Susan. I love the idea of using cocoa - brilliant.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Lynda! I hope your holidays were great 🙂
Choc Chip Uru
There is such a great flavour range in this my friend it looks delicious 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks CCU! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Norma Chang
I don't care for raw kale so would probably saute the kale lightly, cool then continue with the recipe.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Either way should work great with this recipe, Norma! Hope you like it!
mjskit
oh YUM! I love kale salad, but I do like to massage the kale a little to break it down. The roasted Kabocha and persimmon sounds wonderful with the kale! Believe it or not, I have every ingredient for this salad so therefore, it will grace my table this weekend! Thanks for sharing!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Oh great!! I'd love to hear what you think, MJ. I want to make your grits - I have my grits on the counter right now as I write this :-). Sometimes I massage the kale too, and there's evidence it's healthier if you do. The theory goes that massaging the leaves breaks down the cellular walls, releasing the enzymes that are so good for you. I figure that might be happening with my chewing, but either way, this is a really healthy, post-holiday salad.
Terra
Your addition of coffee is truly unique, and I love it! I honestly tried persimmon once, and I did like them. I haven't cooked/baked with them yet, I truly need to though! Your salad sounds hearty and delicious, Hugs, Terra
Mary @ Fit and Fed
I'm sure this salad is quite beautiful with the orange kabocha and persimmon and the ruby pomegranate arils. I've been cooking with kabocha a lot this fall, too. I love the rub you created for the kabocha! I've just gotten my first packages of cocoa nibs lately and am starting to figure out how to use them in my cooking. This is my first time to your blog today and I love it so much that I just subscribed!