Roasted Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad

From Mogwai Soup

Had this salad on Courtney's recommendation - delicious!

3 cups of baby spinach and arugula mix
1 cup of roasted butternut squash (recipe underneath)
1/2 cup of red quinoa, cooked
1/2 of wheat berries, cooked
1/4 cup of crumbled goat cheese
3 Tbsp of dried cranberries
3 Tbsp of golden raisins
1/4 cup of almonds, chopped or slivers
1 Tbsp of roasted red pepper, diced in little chunks
2 Tbsp of red onions, diced


I like to cook my quinoa and wheat berries on Sunday or Monday, so I have it for my various salads the whole week. I store them in mason jars in my fridge, and this works great for me. Cook them according to your package directions. I like to cook mine in vegetable broth. Quinoa in 2:1 ratio water to grain for 10 to 15 minutes. Wheat berries take a little bit longer, depending on the kind you get. Just follow the instruction on your package and I cook those in broth as well.


Roasted Butternut Squash:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Cut a very thin piece of the bottom to make it more stable, and then cut it in half lengthwise. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
With a large spoon scoop the membranes and seeds from the center. Cut it into 1/2" cubes.
Now, season the squash with a tablespoon of olive oil, one or two cloves of minced garlic, some fresh thyme and rosemary (1 sprig each) and salt and pepper. Toss it all together so everything is coated and then put on a cookie sheet lined with greased baking paper. Roast for about 25 minutes.


Dressing:

1 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp of water
about 1/2" of ginger, grated

Put all of the ingredients into a mason jar and mix well. Pour a few tablespoons over our salad. Refrigerate the rest.


Assemble the salad:

Fill the bowl with the spinach and arugula. In a smaller bowl mix your quinoa, wheat berries, red pepper, onions, cranberries and raisins. Put over the greens, add butternut squash and toss a few times. Crumble the goat cheese over the whole salad and top with almonds. I like to roast mine before for just a few minutes. Add the dressing and enjoy!