Butternut Squash, Kale & Sorghum Salad

Gluten-free | Vegan

In between all the cookies, partying, and running around this month – I’ve made every effort to eat healthy in between with soups and light meals. I’m not sure how it’s working… but dear goodness, I am trying. ‘A’ for effort?

I brought this dish to a party and received great reviews. I think the sweetness of the squash combined with all these earthy flavors is so comforting but light. Also, the sorghum in this really takes it up a notch. If you haven’t tried it this way before, it basically tastes like a more al-dente brown rice. It doesn’t get mushy or sticky as fast as rice can though, so it works super well in this salad.

Also, let’s just touch base on the kale in this salad – it’s massaged. It makes such a big difference in the taste and texture, and apparently brings out even more nutrition because of the breakdown in the tough leaves. Kale is no pansy, because of it’s strong leaves it lasts much longer into the season. So giving it a nice olive oil rub down is probably well-deserved. And, hi, olive oil massage on the hands never hurt anyone either… especially in this cold!

Ingredients

serves 10

• A bunch of fresh kale (approx. 4-5 cups raw and ripped)
• 2 cups uncooked sorghum
• 1 butternut squash (medium)
• 6 cups water
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp tahini
• juice of 1 small lemon (or half for large lemon)
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Directions

1. Start the Sorghum, rinse with water and place into a pot, add 6 cups of water for the 2 cups sorghum. Add 1 tsp olive oil and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil.
2. After sorghum is boiling, reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for approx. 55 minutes.
3. While that’s cooking, roast the butternut squash: pre-heat the oven to 400f degrees.
4. Peel the squash (I usually soften it first by zapping the whole thing in the microwave for a 3 minutes). After peeling, slice open, scoop out the seeds and cut similar sized cube pieces.
5. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the cut squash pieces across the paper with a small drizzle of olive oil (approx. 1 tsp), add salt and pepper. Roast for approx. 30 minutes.
6. Now begin the kale! Tear pieces of kale leaves off of the stem, do not use the stem. Rinse kale to clean and let dry.
7. To your serving bowl, add the kale and massage with 2 tsp olive oil (roll those sleeves up and work the olive oil into the kale with your hands for approx. 3-5 minutes). After a few minutes of this, taste a piece to check that it’s not as bitter and you like the taste, then you are finished.
8. Once Sorghum is finished, drain the excess water from the pot and let cool. When the squash is finished, let cool as well.
9. Combine sorghum with the kale and add in the squash using salad tongs or two spoons.
10. Add: cranberries, walnuts, salt/pepper to taste, lemon juice, and tahini and mix the salad again until well combined.
11. Serve at room temperature or a little warm!