Gluten Free Roasted Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad with Honeyed Balsamic Vinaigrette

This warm winter salad features roasted butternut squash, quinoa and a few surprising twists, drizzled with homemade honeyed balsamic vinaigrette, it's gluten free, mostly vegan and vegetarian!

Yield: 2 main portions or 4 side dish portions
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Vegetarian Roasted Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad with Honeyed Balsamic Vinaigrette

I'm a sucker for a good salad. I'm talking about salads with substance, with more than just a few spindly salad leaves and half chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. Salads that will fill you up and keep you full and that are perfect for any time of year. The roasted butternut squash and quinoa salad recipe I'm going to share with you today is just that type of salad: it's full of goodness and makes for a filling meal ready in just over half an hour.

There are all sorts of hidden gems in this salad and a variety of textures too, from the unmistakable texture of quinoa to the crunch of blanched French green beans and the crisp edges of the butternut squash and melt-in-your-mouth velvety creamy inside. Jewels of blueberry-infused dried cranberries add a pop of juicy fruit and the whole thing is rounded with a drizzle of sweetly tangy homemade vinaigrette.

This salad was created as an entry in the Warm Winter Salad competition held by Printworks Kitchen, a family-run cafe in London owned by Supercity Aparthotels.

Ingredients:

For the warm winter salad
1/2 cup blueberry infused dried cranberries or normal dried cranberries
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup French green beans
100 grams baby spinach, rocket and coriander leaves
250 grams red and white quinoa, cooked
olive oil
salt
 

For the honeyed balsamic vinaigrette
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon light honey*
2 tablespoons Modena balsamic vinegar

*It is the honey in this recipe that makes it "mostly vegan". I know some vegans who do eat honey and some who don't. If you don't, you can replace it with half the quantity of agave nectar or an equal quantity of maple syrup. 

Gluten Free Roasted Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad with Honeyed Balsamic Vinaigrette

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200c.
2. Peel and chop the butternut squash into small cubes, about the size of dice.
3. Toss the squash with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Lay it out on a baking tray lined with foil or baking parchment and roast for about 20 minutes or until tender.
4. Warm the cooked quinoa for a few seconds in the microwave, then toss with the baby spinach, rocket and coriander leaves.
5. Blanch the French green beans by boiling for 1 minute and then refreshing under cold water.
6. Sprinkle the green beans and dried cranberries over the leaves and quinoa.
7. Make the vinaigrette by whisking balsamic vinegar with olive oil. Continue to whisk as you add the honey. Set aside.
8. Top the leaves with the cooked butternut squash whilst still warm. 
9. Drizzle over the honeyed balsamic vinaigrette and serve.