The tail end of winter is always tough. Daylight savings has kicked in (and I’m not going to complain about sunlight at 7pm) but the temperatures are still hovering in the 40s and I see a few snowflakes in the forecast. It’s been about four months of root vegetables on heavy rotation, soups galore and a LOT of lentils. So many lentil salads- three of them have made it onto this blog so far and I’m embarrassed to admit there’s another coming in the next week or so! But with the arrival of March, all I can think about is asparagus season, dining al fresco and taking the water-logged cover off the grill.
And that’s why this pasta salad is the perfect dish for right now. It’s made with butternut squash (squarely in the autumn / winter camp), but the format is very much “summer picnic”- who doesn’t love a fusilli pasta salad alongside their hot dog? I was utterly smitten with this dish the moment I poured that delicious dressing (red wine vinegar and hazelnut oil- oh my goodness) over the top of the warm noodles and vegetables. It’s a real winter pick-me-up.
I can already foresee that I’m going to get questions about the hazelnut oil called for in the dressing. You’ll want to know whether you really need to invest in an oil you think you’ll use once. My vote is that you should, with the view that you will love it and want to use it all the time in dressings. I have several nuts oils (walnut oil is another favorite) that I keep in the fridge, and they’re a subtle punch of flavor to the usual salad dressing. Just keep them refrigerated and commit to eating more salad!
It’s been about a year or so since I decided to really give bringing lunches to work the good ol’ college try. Hence the abundance of lentil and grain salads that grace the recipe index in addition to the more challenging “reach” dishes I usually make for dinner. It does take some extra time on Sunday, but it has made a huge difference in both my wallet and my waistband- my eyes are so much bigger than my stomach, and if I choose what to eat when I’m really hungry, I’ll always overdo it. So if you’re late on making your resolutions for 2018, consider work lunches- and start with this salad!
Ingredients
- One 2-lb. butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (6 cups)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- 3/4 lb. whole-wheat fusilli
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unrefined hazelnut oil
- 1 head of Treviso or 1/2 a small head of radicchio, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup packed parsley leaves
- Shaved Pecorino Tuscano or Romano, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 1/4 cup of the vinegar, the olive oil and honey and spread evenly on the baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 35 minutes, tossing halfway through, until browned and glazed.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain. Toss with 3 tablespoons of the hazelnut oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons each of vinegar and hazelnut oil. Stir in the squash, Treviso and parsley, then fold in the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature with shaved pecorino.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2018/03/12/vinegar-glazed-butternut-squash-pasta-salad/
