The best fall salad

Do you have any favourite recipes that just scream fall? I find that fall has more dishes that can be attributed to it than any other season for some reason. Not that this is a bad thing… most of those recipes are quite delicious! But today, I wanted to share the one with you that just might be my favourite.

So it’s a bit labour-intensive to create this recipe, just because doing things like shaving the Brussels sprouts takes time, as does breaking down pomegranates to get the arils out. But I promise that this recipe is well worth the effort.

These flavours just work so well together… plus, it doesn’t hurt that both Brussels sprouts and butternut squash are two of my all-time favourite veggies! Together, they make for a super tasty and nutrient-packed side dish. Add some grilled shrimp and you can make a whole meal out of it. Betcha there won’t be any leftovers though! This is one super side dish that tends to disappear pretty quickly…

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash:

For the Brussels sprouts salad:

· 1-½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and shaved

· 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped

· 1 large fugi apple, peeled cored, and chopped

· 1/3 cup pomegranate arils

· ½ cup feta cheese crumbles

· 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

For the Citrus Maple-Cinnamon Dressing:

· ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

· ¼ cup lemon juice

· 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. pure maple syrup

· ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

· Sea salt, to taste

1) Prepare the dressing: add all of the ingredients for the dressing to a small blender. Blend until completely smooth, then set aside

2) Preheat the oven to 415 F

3) Dice up the butternut squash and spread over a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and use your hands to coat the squash in the oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and a dash of cinnamon if desired

4) Roast the butternut squash for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring half-way through, until the squash is golden-brown and cooked through. Once the butternut squash has finished roasting, set it aside to cool to room temperature

5) While the squash is roasting, shave all of the Brussels sprouts (I use a box grater for this task). Discard the hard stems

6) Add the shaved Brussels sprouts to a large serving bowl, along with the butternut squash, apple, pomegranate seeds, feta cheese and pumpkin seeds. Add the dressing to your taste and toss until everything is well coated. Taste for flavour and add sea salt to taste

7) Serve alongside your favorite meal

Photos coming soon! I am grabbing all of the ingredients for this tomorrow from the farmer's market, then this is going to be served for dinner alongside probably some cast iron skillet-cooked steak. Will take pictures then!