Butternut squash, quinoa, grapefruit, oranges, toasted walnuts, and pomegranate arils come together to create lovely Layered Holiday Salads.
Layered Holiday Salads
Serves: approximately 12
Ingredients
- 6 baby red beets
- 1½ cups water, divided
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
- 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 medium butternut squash
- ¾ cup tri-color quinoa
- 1 large grapefruit
- 2 medium oranges
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- 3 cups chopped, stemmed Russian kale
- ¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- Garnish: fresh mint
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Using a sharp knife, trim and discard greens and roots from beets. Place beets in an 8-inch square baking dish. Add ¼ cup water, vinegar, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper, tossing to coat beets. Cover baking dish with foil.
- Roast beets until a paring knife can be inserted into beets without resistance, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely. Peel and dice beets into ½-inch cubes.
- Peel and dice squash into ½-inch cubes. In a large bowl, toss together squash, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Place in a single layer on a small rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast squash until slightly tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
- In a medium saucepan, cook quinoa in remaining 1¼ cups water according to package instructions. Let cool completely.
- Using a sharp knife, peel and segment grapefruit and oranges, reserving ¼ cup juice. Chop grapefruit and orange segments into thirds.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together reserved ¼ cup citrus juice, mint, and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil until emulsified. Add kale, tossing to coat.
- In 12 (6-ounce) trifle glasses, layer beets, kale, quinoa, grapefruit, orange, and squash. Top with walnuts and pomegranate arils. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until needed, up to 3 hours. Serve cold or at room temperature.
- Garnish with mint, if desired.
Notes
Beets, squash, and quinoa can be cooked up to 2 days in advance. Let cool completely, place individual airtight containers, and refrigerate until needed. Because layers may bleed into others, we recommend assembling and serving salads within 3 hours.
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