Tuesday night I made a salad for a creative group of crafters and bloggers who attended
“Spark Your Holidays Soiree” put on by Margie Romney -Aslett (Justagirl) and hosted by Jamie Soucy. I didn’t stay for the festivities, but heard the ladies who attended had a fabulous time! I was amazed at Jamie’s gorgeous fully decorated Christmas house and the work Margie put into assembling craft kits. It was all so festive, that I may have to sign up next time they have an event and try my hand at creating outside of the kitchen…
I wanted to share a salad that was savory and a reflection of the season. I started with greens and decided on three main ingredients for toppings: roasted butternut squash, pomegranates and avocados. Keeping the dressing harvest-style, I topped the salad with pumpkin seeds and made a basic buttermilk dressing and added fresh sage. It was simple, fresh and a bit out of the ordinary.
This dish is perfect for your holiday table, not your mother’s ho-hum green salad, and also a change from the fruit-candied nut-cheese salad we see at almost every holiday gathering.
One week till Thanksgiving!
So excited.
Harvest Salad with Buttermilk Sage Dressing
Ingredients
Salad:
- 8-10 cups Romaine Lettuce, chopped
- 8-10 cups spinach, preferably baby spinach
- 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 ripe and slightly firm avocado
- 1 large pomegranate, seeded or about 1 – 1 1/2 cups of seeds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, green type, roasted, salted
Buttermilk Sage Dressing:
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup mayo, light is ok, but regular is better
- 5-7 fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth or place ingredients in container and shake or use an immersion blender. The dressing will keep for a week refrigerated.
To assemble salad:
- About 1 hour before assembling salad- Preheat oven to 450 convection, or 500 bake. Move rack to middle of oven.
- Place butternut squash on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Drizzle with about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast just until squash begins to turn color and get a nice brown edge. This usually takes about 15 minutes on convection or 20 in a regular bake setting. Watch closely so it does not burn.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Place greens on a large platter or bowl.
- Top with cooled roasted squash, chunked avocado and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle generously with pumpkin seeds.
- Serve with dressing on the side.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. I’d love to see a photo, tag @abountifulkitchen on Instagram!
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[…] I stumbled upon this deliciousness by accident. It was incredibly easy and practically brainless to make. We had my brother over for dinner on Sunday so I made this, pan seared broccoli and this ridiculously tasty Harvest Salad with Buttermilk Sage Dressing. […]
Annie
Si, Made this for the Colby Christmas Party last night. Smashing success! Now a family favorite. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
abountifulkitchen
Annie, Merry Christmas to my Colby/Black cousins 🙂 Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and glad everyone loved the salad!
Kelly
I love any and all things with buttermilk. This looks so healthy and delicious!
AJ Candrian
I had this exact same salad at a dinner party last weekend, but made with arugula instead. The pomegranate is the perfect touch.
abountifulkitchen
Hi AJ, Well, just goes to show you, no matter how original you think you are, someone else has probably thought of your idea before you!
thanks for sharing 🙂
Unknown
This looks so yummy. Can't wait to try it.
AllisonK
This is such a delicious salad. Thank you for sharing it with us at the soiree. I can't wait to make it for my family.
It was also fun to find out we have both have a great love for the Cutlers.
Thank you again.