This salad is a vegetarian’s best friend and easily a vegan’s too - just sub out sheep’s feta for a plant based feta like Follow Your Heart’s. If you are pressed on time, make the beets, farro and roasted squash a day or even three days ahead of time. They both keep great after roasting. Once those tasks, are done, this salad comes together very quickly. It's good both chilled or at room temp. It also holds up well to added proteins - either grilled chicken or salmon, both work beautifully.
Ingredients
Squash Ingredients
Butternut Squash, 1 Small-Med. ( ½” Cubed)
Golden Beets, 1-2 Med. Whole
Leeks, 2 – white part sliced thinly
Farro, 1 Cup, cooked
Fresh Spinach, 1 – 4 or 5 oz. container
Castelvetrano Olives, ~ 10 squished –
Feta, 3 Ts - crumbled
Salt and Pepper
Blood Orange Dressing Ingredients
Blood Orange - ½ med., juiced
Fresh Zaatar - 1 T minced
Fresh Mint - 1 T minced
Champagne Vinegar - 3 tsps.
Goat Yogurt - 2 tsps.
Agave - ½ t.
Olive Oil - 2 Ts
Salt and Pepper
Please buy organic whenever possible!
Preparation
For the Dressing
Combine the Blood Orange juice thru the agave – whisk or shake well. While whisking, drizzle in the olive oil until well incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until needed.
For the Salad
Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
Roast the butternut squash and beets first. Toss the cubed butternut squash in a bit of olive oil/salt and pepper and spread out on a sheet pan. Roast for about 25 min. or until fork tender. Set aside to cool.
Wrap up the beets individually in foil and roast them at 375 F. for about 50 min – and hour or when they are forked easily. Set aside to cool.
Cook the farro according to instructions. Set aside to cool. When cooled, cut into ½” cubes.
In a medium sized saucepan – heat up about 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Add the leeks and sauté on medium-high until just tender – salt them a bit. Add the fresh spinach and lid. Turn down heat to low. Let the spinach wilt – when it just wilted, mix up the leeks and spinach and add the cooked farro, toss for another 30 seconds – remove from heat.
Plate the salad : Using tongs – arrange the wilted leeks/spinach/farro mixture on a plate or large shallow bowl. Top with 1 cup of the cubed butternut squash, 1 cup of the cubed roasted golden beets, 10 or so smashed Castelvetrano olives and the feta cheese. Drizzle with Blood Orange dressing and serve!