Gorgeous Squash Salad and Dressing

Squash Salad - pine nuts, fresh basil, fresh black. pepper, (optional: drizzle lemon on top)

Squash Salad with parmesan cheese drizzled on top

When I think of salads I envision a bowl of vegetables, and than dressing topped over the veggies and tossed. That’s the traditional salad we’re all accustomed to, right? This salad recipe is unique and beautiful, and I’ll be bedecking my holiday table with this salad as my appetizer.

The past few days I spent forage farming upstate. I was so excited to pick my own vegetables to enjoy. Whatever was naturally growing (of course seasonal) was available for the picking. We ate our way through the farm.

As I was roaming around the giant farm of plentiful herbs, edible flowers, root vegetables and leafy greens, I kept on thinking about the earth and its gift to us. ‘Food is Medicine’ - Hippocrates had it right! Medicine used be created out of herbs and plants. It still is by many holistic practitioners. I was so inspired!

I love my home garden but this year with all my travel I let it go. I was reminded how important growing our own food is for our health on every level, and the environment, as well. Gardening might seem overwhelming - a few planters of herbs is enough to feel the benefits. How cool is it to be cooking and needing some basil and voila you have it growing on your property!

This salad recipe is quite unique and so simple. It was inspired by Chef Kyle at Wildflower Farms. I love the creativity involved in the drizzling of the dressing on the plate and then placing the squash circles (you can use a medallion slicer) using a sharp knife to slice in thin circles over the dressing, and than top it with all sorts of goodies (recipe below).

This salad is so gorgeous and delicious. As I always say, “Food is art” - it truly is, and when you design your plate you’ll feel the artist within, impress yourself, family and guests.

Recipe - serves 2 in large flat plates
3 squashes yellow or green or combine for color - thinly sliced
a few basil leaves
optional: pine nuts
optional: parmesan cheese dairy or vegan
sea salt - maldon salt - read below about maldon seasoning sea salt
fresh black pepper

Dressing
2 tbsp white miso paste - read below about miso
2 tbsp ginger root - freshly grated - peel skin
1 lemon zest
1/2 lemon - freshly squeezed
1 tbsp rice wine
optional: drizzle of mirin - add for sweet seasoning

Instructions

• begin with preparing the dressing: add all the ingredients in a bowl and combine

• slice squash in thin circles. You can use a medallion 1/8 inches thick or use a sharp knife

• on flat plates drizzle salad dressing on the bottom of each plate

• lay out all the squash circles throughout the bottom of plates over the dressing

• sprinkle a little maldon salt over plate of squash salad

• add more lemon drizzle on top - optional

• add a few pieces of basil leaves around squash salad

• sprinkle pine nuts over squash salad - optional

• add parmesan cheese on top of squash salad - optional

• add fresh black pepper on top of salad

• enjoy this stunning plate of decadence, tastes and seasonal squash

  
  Genia’s Spoon Me Tips
  I’m introducing a new salt to inspire you at home and cook like the pros for the finest taste in your food. I love my Himalayan and Celtic salts and will always use the high mineralized delicious salt, as well. This recipe allows you to enjoy other tastes without an overbearing salt taste. I have been aware of Maldon Sea Salt for awhile, but other than my son insisting on using it for his meat dishes, (he’s a steak connoisseur) I really wasn’t using it in my own cooking. I was inspired as I learned that high mineralized salts (Himalayan and Celtic) have a strong taste that can overwhelm the other ingredients. So, if you’re using a lot of beautiful tasting ingredients as this dressing calls for Maldon Sea Salt will enhance the flavor not overwhelm it.

  Maldon is a famous sea salt harvested from the Blackwater in the English town of Maldon since 1882. It has a fresh flavor and comes in flakes and refined, too. Gourmet chefs and home cooks love this salt. I highly encourage you to add Maldon Sea Salt to your pantry collection. Use it when you use other ingredients in your cooking, and you want a more mild, clean salt taste.

  We know Miso as the main ingredient in miso soup - Japanese cuisine. I remember when I was a student at Natural Gourmet we learned that miso paste was used traditionally to help fatigue, stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, inflammation and a great probiotic (healthy gut bacteria). There are more recent studies on miso health benefits: digestive health, reduce cancer cell growth and lower cholesterol levels. Once again, ‘food is medicine’! Miso is a salty paste made from fermented beans usually soybeans, barley, rice or oats.

  Red Miso
  pungent tasting, therefore use for cooking meats

  White Miso
  more mild and used in salad dressings

  Much love,
  Genia