Balsamic roasted butternut squash, deeply toasted walnuts, and nutty farro come together in this salad inspired by the countless farro salads I enjoyed while on the Umbrian chapter of a recent Italian adventure. The Italians were using farro alongside cherry tomatoes and basil (with the occasional introduction of cheese or local olives), but the seasons changed while I was away, and after a survey of the farmer’s market on Saturday, I knew my next farro salad was going to get a roasted butternut squash twist.
Let’s talk Winter Squash
You have a few options here, outside of butternut squash. I call for easy-to-find butternut squash for a few reasons. They typically have good flavor and texture, they’re also quick to peel versus some other winter squash. If you tend to shop farmers’ markets keep an eye peeled for red kuri squash, they’re fantastic, and you can absolutely eat the peel. Same goes for kabocha squash. You can swap in either in this recipe.
How This Came Together
I thought long and hard about this recipe once I knew the general direction I was headed. It was destined for a friend’s house, one of our regular potlucks, and it’s a group of discerning and vocal palettes, excellent cooks all of them. The rainy weather was screaming roasted ingredients, so that ended up being a bit of a no-brainer, but I ran into some decision-making surrounding the final dressing.
I knew I wanted to use a toasted walnut oil I had on hand as the dressing, or as a major component in the dressing. I thought about tossing the entire salad with a simple walnut-balsamic vinaigrette but when I tested it the balsamic totally overpowered the toasted walnut oil I was using. At the same time I was busy almost burning the walnuts. The salad actually became more about the walnuts at this point for me, I wanted to make sure that walnut flavor didn’t get lost. It turned out the deep, deep flavor that came off the slightly over-toasted walnuts gave the walnut flavor in the oil and the nuts the muscle it needed to stand up to the rest of the dish.
Another Possible Direction
There were moments where I also considered a more Thai-inspired angle, maybe a spicy coconut milk dressing, limes, tomatoes, basil, pickled red onions – it ended up feeling too summery to me. Delicious, but off-season.
Farro!
Farro is a favorite grain of mine – nutty, chewy, hearty! If you’ve never tried farro I encourage you to give it a shot. Make-ahead components of a recipe like this keep well in the refrigerator, and can be served warm or at room temperature. Looking to find farro? I know many of you have a Whole Foods Market or natural food store within your communities, check out the bin section for farro and let me know how it goes! Italian grocers often stock it as well.
How To Cut a Butternut Squash
For a recipe like this, take a medium butternut squash, lob off the little stem end so it is flat. Cut off the entire neck, so you’re now dealing with a cylinder shape. Stand that on end, and run a knife top to bottom to peel it, alternately, use a Y-style vegetable peeler. Slice the cylinder into 1/2-inch thick disks. It’s easy to cube from there.
Move onto the bulb portion next. With the big bulb part, halve it lengthwise, clear out the seeds. Peel and then slice into cubes for a recipe like this, or drizzle with some oil and a sprinkle some salt, roast, and use that as the basis for a simple blender soup – no waste, minimal fuss.
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