Roasted Kuri Squash Salad with Maple Lime Yogurt Drizzle

 Red kuri squash, known by many names such as potimarron in French, red hubbard squash, onion squash or Japanese squash, is simply delicious.  It is a good source of fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium, riboflavin and beta carotene.  It has a delicate flavor and is dense so it holds up well during roasting and its texture is less fibrous than other squashes and pumpkin.  It was love at first sight when I discovered it recently at the market and it has become my new favorite! I’m all about local produce and this beauty was grown in nearby Lancaster County where my husband’s family is from.  Having used half in another recipe, I had to come up with a way to use up the second half.

 For this recipe, I cut it into rings unpeeled,  coated it in a spicy garlic rub, roasted it at high temperature to caramelize it then created a salad with it.  For the salad I added crumbled feta, fresh garden herbs, pomegranate seeds, drizzled a Greek yogurt dressing and finished it with chopped walnuts.  The cool sweet dressing contrasts beautifully in both texture and temperature with the spicy garlicky squash. WOW!  Delicious!  This recipe could be made with roasted slices of acorn or butternut squash but go ahead, give red kuri a try.  Who knows, you might be falling in love too.

• Servings: 4
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Ingredients:

1 lb of red Kuri squash, cut in 1/2″ thick slices

For the rub:  2 T olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, minced, 1 t sea salt, 1 T fresh thyme leaves, 1/2 t hot pepper flakes;   plus 2 T maple sugar(or brown sugar) to add at the end of roasting

For the topping:  2 T feta, crumbled, 3 T chopped fresh herbs, 2 T pomegranate seeds, 1 T of toasted walnuts, chopped

For the dressing:  1/4 c Greek yogurt, juice of half a lime, 1 T maple syrup

Method:

1)  Mix the rub ingredients together and rub all over the squash slices.  Roast the squash at 400F on a line baking sheet for 40 minutes, turning over once at half time.  Sprinkle with the maple sugar while the squash is still hot.

2)  On a platter, arrange your squah in a row.  Sprinkle the squash with cumbled feta, fresh herbs then the pomegranate seeds.  Whisk together the yogurt, lime juice and maple syrup and drizzle on top of the salad.  Finish with a sprinkling of the toasted walnuts.  The squash will be fork tender and even the peel can be eaten.  So. Very. Good.

YUM!