Caramelized Acorn Squash Salad with Kale and Apples

Kale salad with acorn squash, apples and pepitas.

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Caramelized Acorn Squash Salad with Kale and Apples

A healthy salad of roasted acorn squash tossed with kale, apples and pepitas.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Any

Keyword: acorn squash salad

Servings:

Calories: 241.6kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

1 small acorn squash
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
2 bundles kale about 40 leaves
2 apples Fuji and Honeycrisp apples are perfect.
½ cup roasted pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons apple cider
2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400º F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut the acorn squash into quarters, and scrape out the seeds using a spoon. Slice the squash in ½" thick slices.
Toss in just enough olive oil to coat them, and place on a baking sheet. Lightly salt with ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
Roast for 15 minutes, or until just tender. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Pro-tip: Or use an air fryer to cook the acorn squash. Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F, toss the squash pieces in the olive oil, and arrange in the basket of an air fryer. Roast for 5 - 7 minutes, or until tender. (Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do this in batches).
Slice the leaves of the kale away from the central, tough vein. Stack the leaves on top of each other, 5 or 6 at a time, and slice horizontally into 2-inch wide ribbons. You can also tear the leaves into pieces instead of using a knife.
Rinse and completely dry the kale leaves. I recommend a salad spinner or use paper towels.
Lightly salt the leaves with ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt, and massage the leaves until they become slightly limp and moist. Dry by squeezing the leaves with paper towels and place in a bowl.
Cut the apples in quarters, remove the core, and slice thinly. Add to the kale along with the roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and roasted squash.
Whisk together the honey and apple cider in a bowl, and drizzle half of it over the kale salad and lightly toss, being careful not to break up the squash pieces. Add more dressing as desired.

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