Lately I am obsessed with this salad. Actually, Millie and I are both obsessed with it! I had a butternut squash languishing decoratively in a bowl in my kitchen. I started to feel guilty every time I looked at it, so I told Millie I was going to give it away on my Buy Nothing group. And that’s all it took to get her busy. She peeled it, de-seeded it, cubed it, and roasted it in olive oil with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Honestly, you can do that to just about anything and it will be delicious.

That caramelized goodness is chewy-crispy amazing!

Now, I can’t remember what Millie ate with the squash the first night, but the next day, she and I looked in the fridge and cobbled together a salad with leftovers… all things that I got at Trader Joe’s, by the way, making it extra convenient: baby spinach, steamed lentils, leftover butternut squash, crumbled goat cheese, and finely chopped candied pecans.

It was ridiculously good! Dressing was just a teeny bit of Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and honey. I’m embarrassed to admit that I had that salad for three days in a row. Millie started teasing me about it, but then I noticed she had it at least twice! I think the combination of spinach plus lentils plus roasted squash plus goat cheese is just magical. The hardest part of making this salad is preparing the squash, and once you’ve done that, you’ve got squash to last you for several days! Worth it.

Spinach Salad with Butternut Squash

• One butternut squash
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and cracked pepper
• 6 ounces baby spinach
• Trader Joe’s Steamed Lentils, cold from the fridge
• 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped candied pecans (optional)

1. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400°, placing one rack in the middle and one rack in the lower third of the oven.
3. Peel the squash, cut it in half lengthwise, remove the seeds by scooping out with a spoon, then cut the squash into 3/4″ cubes. Place in a large bowl and toss in 3 tablespoons olive oil with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Spread the cubes on prepared cookie sheets, making sure the cubes don’t touch each other. This is so they roast nicely. Place one sheet on the middle rack and one on the bottom rack. Rotate the pans and switch racks every ten minutes until the squash is nicely roasted; for me, this takes between 30 to 40 minutes. You can take the sheets out and toss the squash before rotating for a more even bake, but I don’t bother. Once roasted to your liking, take the squash out of the oven and set aside. Millie and I like the squash to still be warm in the salad :).
4. To assemble the salads, place baby spinach in large bowls (these are entree sized salads, and you can make 2 or more). Layer each salad with 1/2 cup of cold steamed lentils, 1 cup of roasted butternut squash cubes* and a scant 1/4 cup of crumbled goat cheese. Measurements are really up to you, and I suppose you could just make one large salad to take to a potluck, but you’ll want to have most of it all to yourself. Finally, sprinkle some of the finely chopped pecans on top, and drizzle with dressing of your choice. I like it with a Honey Dijon Vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Note:  *If you are using leftover roasted butternut squash cubes for this salad, Millie says (and I agree) that it is best if you heat the squash briefly in the microwave or on the stove top in a steamer so that it is warm, or at least room temperature. All other ingredients should be cold.