Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

The best part of this fall harvest salad is that it can actually be made ahead of time and stores well in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Ingredients

Salad:

1 head curly kale

1 bulb fennel

1 small butternut squash

1 apple, gala or honeycrisp

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup pecans

1/4 cup goat cheese (optional)

Olive oil

Sea Salt

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch black pepper

Instructions

Being by roasting the squash. Preheat the oven to 400°F, and while it is warming prepare the butternut squash. Peel it, and cut it in half. Using a spoon remove the seeds, and cut into cubes.

Add cubed butternut squash to a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of sea salt. Transfer to the oven for 25-30 minutes until squash is tender and can be pierced with a fork. Once cooked, set aside and allow to cool. (This step can be done ahead of time.)

While the squash is roasting, prepare the salad. Wash the kale leaves and pat them dry. Remove the tough ribs from the kale leaves, then chop or tear into bite-size pieces, and transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle kale with a pinch of sea salt and massage it into the leaves until they become darker in colour. Set aside until it is time to assemble the salad, this will help to ensure more tender kale.

Prepare the dressing. Add ingredients to a small bowl or jar and whisk to combine.

Once the squash has cooled, prepare the remainder of the salad. Using a knife or mandoline, slice the fennel as thinly as possible. Leaving the skin on, chop the apple into thin bite-size pieces.

Add roasted squash, fennel and apple to the bowl of kale, top with pumpkin seeds, pecans and goat cheese.

Drizzle salad with dressing and toss to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!