A salad is a nice addition to Thanksgiving dinner, even if your celebration will be pared down

The holiday season is upon us, friends. The huge dread about how to safely gather has hit home since the CDC has recommended we celebrate the holidays only with those who live under our roofs.

Traditions out the window. No gathering. But still many things to be thankful for – starting with our health.

We plan to prepare the Thanksgiving meal, and my husband’s sons will drive through to pick up for their families.

We’ll be making turkey, which we happen to love so much that we roast them several times a year. It’s a nice change of pace from chicken, an everyday protein. And leftover turkey makes great soup, pot pie or curry.

Alongside turkey comes the mashed potatoes with plenty of heavy whipping cream and butter and gravy. My dad used to say that “Gravy is my second favorite beverage,” and if you ever saw his plate, he wasn’t kidding.

Those menu items are all traditional and it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them, right? But there are many other “must-haves” on a traditional menu. Most people’s include green bean casserole, some sort of sweet potatoes, stuffing — or dressing as some call it — and warm rolls from the oven.

This week’s recipe is for my Thanksgiving Salad. Salad is easy to overlook on this holiday, and I think it’s a real mistake. This hearty fall salad doesn’t need to wait until the holiday. That’s just when I happen to make it every year.

It features roasted butternut squash, chopped purple kale, cooked quinoa and sweet pecans, and you can add goat cheese — because goat cheese improves everything. The dressing is a vinaigrette with apple cider vinegar, which gives it a tart, fresh flavor, and it’s softened by a bit of maple syrup and Dijon mustard.

Next week, we’ll talk pie baking. Thanksgiving is the pie holiday, and baking pies is such a joyful practice. Then the week after, we’ll talk about what to do with leftover turkey, assuming you’re making one this year.

Like everything, we will get through this pandemic. And hopefully next year when we gather, it will be that much sweeter to be together.

Thanksgiving Salad

4 cups fresh butternut squash, cubed into bite-sized pieces

¼ cup olive oil

Kosher salt

2 bunches purple kale, stems stripped and chopped

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

½ cup dried cherries

¾ cup maple pecans or Trader Joe’s Sweet & Spicy Pecans

Optional topping: 4 ounces goat cheese crumbles

Dressing:

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a sheet pan, arrange the butternut squash, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pieces are slightly browned on the edges.

In a small pan over medium-high heat, bring water and quinoa to a boil, then reduce heat to low until cooked, about 15 minutes. Chop the kale and add it to a large salad bowl.

Cool butternut squash and quinoa until room temperature. Mix dressing ingredients together and whisk it until it’s emulsified. Add squash, quinoa and dressing to the kale and toss thoroughly. Top with dried cherries and pecans.

This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 3:33 PM.