Roasted Butternut Squash and Peanut Salad

This salad has almost everything I love in food, the deep notes of caramel in the roasted squash, the brightness of fresh herbs, the grounding of peanuts, and the fruity tanginess of pomegranate molasses. 

It’s quick and easy. The best part is you eat it at room temperature which makes it great for brunch parties or potlucks.

You can cut the butternut squash yourself, but feel free to buy it precut. You’ll pay more for it to be precut and it’ll be slimy within about two days, but it’s a time saver and still much cheaper than take out.  

Roasted Butternut Squash and Peanut Salad
Serves 3-4

1 ½ lb chopped butternut squash
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
⅛ tsp red pepper (cayenne)
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbl high heat oil (avocado or grapeseed is usually what I use)
1-2 Tbl olive oil
⅓ c thinly sliced green onions
⅔ c chopped parsley
1 Tbl pomegranate molasses
¼ c roasted salted peanuts (My Armo likes Planters the best)

Roasted Butternut Squash and Peanut Salad Directions
Preheat the oven to 475.

Dump 1 ½ lbs of butternut squashed on a sheet pan. In a small saucer, mix ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp coarse ground black pepper, ⅛ tsp red pepper, and 1 tsp garlic powder. Sprinkle it over the squash.

Drizzle 2 Tbl high heat oil over the squash. Mix with your hands until the squash is coated in oil and the spices are evenly distributed. Spread out the squash. Roast for about 20 min.

If your squash isn’t uniform in size, pull out the smaller squash pieces and allow the larger pieces to continue to cook. When the squash is cooked, the underside will be dark brown and the top will just start to take on color. The largest pieces will still be a little firm.

Put the squash in a bowl. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Drizzle 1 Tbl of olive oil on top and toss it using your hands. It should be coated with oil. If it’s not, add a little more oil. Taste. Add more salt if needed. Sprinkle ⅓ c of sliced green onions and ⅔ c chopped parsley on top of the squash. Toss it.

When ready to serve, put the squash on a dinner size plate and drizzle 1 Tbl pomegranate molasses on top of the squash. Sprinkle ¼ c of roasted salted peanuts on top.

Notes
Because we’re treating the squash as a salad, I like it to have a firmer bite. If you roast it to eat as a hot side dish, you can reduce the heat to 425, cover it with aluminum foil for a few minutes in the oven before uncovering it, or microwave it a few minutes to slightly soften the squash before cooking it. You don’t want it to be firm if you’re eating it hot.

If you don’t have pomegranate molasses, you can use aged balsamic vinegar (or reduce balsamic vinegar). If you don’t have vinegar, you can squeeze a little lemon on top.

Pomegranate molasses is a bit tart. If it’s too acidic for you straight up, you can mix it with a little neutral oil and mayonnaise. The mayonnaise will act as a binder.

Feel free to have fun and change up flavors of the herbs and nuts. A couple of ideas are to use cilantro and purple onions or dill and shallots.