Spicy? Not so much.

This has been a root vegetable-filled week.  The potluck I went to on Friday had butternut squash casserole with leeks, butternut squash risotto, roasted butternut squash soup…an amazingly delicious, but slightly uniform smorgasbord.  Of course, what’s staring at me from my counter?  No other than a butternut squash.

I had high hopes for this salad, and while it was certainly filling, and had tasty elements, it wasn’t quite the fantastical experience I had expected.  A few ideas as to why:

• Too much spinach. I upped the spinach to try and include a few more leafy greens in my day, but the spinach seemed to take away from the flavors of the squash.
• Not enough spice.  The original recipe I used was light on spices in an effort to not overwhelm sensitive taste buds.  For this spice-loving girl, it was too bland.
• Not crumbling the goat cheese enough.  The goat cheese was one of the best flavors in this mix, and the bites that didn’t have any were really lacking luster.

The good:

Photo: Smitten Kitchen

• High in fiber, protein, and iron, this meal is dynamite on a plate, especially for vegetarians.
• Goat cheese. Ohhhhhh goat cheese.
• Mixing in the roasted squash seeds when serving makes the perfect contrast in textures and adds a savory kick to the taste combination.

I’ll be making this again, just with a few tweaks next time!

Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat Cheese
Adapted from Bon Appetit

To toast the seeds, simply clean them off, rinse and pat them dry and toast them in the oven or toaster oven on an oiled baking sheet, sprinkled with salt.

Serves 6 as an appetizer, 3 as a main

3/4 cup black or green lentils
6 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash or sugar pumpkin (1-inch cubes)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 cups baby spinach
1 cup soft crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves (optional; I didn’t use this, but maybe it would help enhance the flavors?)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, plus additional to taste
Roasted seeds (about 1/2 cup) from your butternut squash

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss squash or pumpkin cubes with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika and salt. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet and roast 20 minutes. Flip pieces and roast for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until tender. Cool.

Meanwhile, soak lentils for 10 minutes in a small bowl, then drain. Cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and cool.

Combine lentils, pumpkin, any oil you can scrape from the baking with spinach, if using, half of goat cheese, mint, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt, pepper and extra vinegar, if desired. Sprinkle with remaining goat cheese to serve.