I wasn’t planning on posting this recipe until next week but this salad was just SO DANG DELICIOUS that I couldn’t wait any longer! Seriously, OMG IT WAS SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD. Too good to wait until next week… that’s for sure.
So… are you a salad person?
Yes, no, maybe so? Well, I would NOT consider myself a salad person. I rarely order them at restaurants and I almost never make them at home. When I do have a salad, I’m always like: “well, I love all the things around the lettuce but the lettuce is really just getting in my way of eating everything else…”
BUT THEN I HAD THIS SALAD… and my view on salads changed forever. For the better, duh!
This scrumdiliumptious salad (yes, I had to Google how to spell that…) is jammed packed with SO MANY FLAVORS that surprisingly all work really well together (recipe development win!!).
Let’s talk about ingredients:
- Arugula and baby spinach: These beauties make this salad… a SALAD lol. I prefer arugula and baby spinach to other lettuces like iceberg and romaine. The peppery flavor of the arugula and slight sweetness to the baby spinach pair perfectly together for the base of this salad.
- Roasted butternut squash: Warm, sweet, and slightly nutty squash that melts in your mouth with each bite. I know that butternut squash isn’t really a spring vegetable but it was made for this salad. If you can’t find a ripe fresh butternut squash, you can often find organic cubed butternut squash in the freezer section which will work just fine for this recipe!
- Juicy “grilled” chicken: We marinate thinly sliced chicken breast in lemon juice and maple syrup then “grill” them up on a cast iron skillet yielding perfectly juicy chicken breast that’s easily sliceable to add on top the salad. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, feel free to leave off the chicken and double the amount of butternut squash (you’ll also need to swap honey for agave in the sesame ginger vinaigrette).
- Raw red onion: There are a few sweet ingredients in this salad already so the raw red onion adds a nice bite to off set the sweetness. If you aren’t super into the flavor of raw onions, try soaking them in water before serving.
- Minced dried figs: These minced figs are my second favorite part of this salad. They add fabulous texture and a little sweetness to the mix.
- Roasted (and shelled) sunflower seeds: Mainly used for garnish… but I really enjoyed the punch of salt they offer. As with the raw onion, these salty sunflower seeds help balance the sweetness of the other ingredients in this salad.
- Sesame ginger vinaigrette: OMG OMG OMG… a seriously drinkable vinaigrette!! Fresh ginger, garlic, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil… ALL MY FAVORITES. The sesame ginger taste is so refreshing on top of all the amazing ingredients above.
Ready for the recipe? I’m drooling… it’s time yo.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cubed/diced butternut squash (mine were about 1/2 inch cubes)
- olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1.5 lbs thin sliced chicken breasts
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 8 oz arugula and baby spinach mix
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 12 dried figs, minced in a food processor
- 1/3 cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds (out of the shells)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 x 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (use tamari if gluten free)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
Instructions
- Roast your butternut squash: Preheat oven to 400F. Add cubed butternut squash to a jelly roll pan (baking sheet with sides) and drizzle a little olive oil over top then sprinkle with cayenne pepper, sea salt, and black pepper. Roast for 45 minutes or until soft and golden, stirring/flipping over half way through.
- Marinate and "grill" the chicken: While the butternut squash is cooking, add thin sliced chicken breast (or normal sized chicken breasts sliced in half) to a large ziploc bag with the lemon juice and maple syrup, seal then shake to coat chicken. Let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes, rotating the bag half way through. Once marinated, remove chicken from bag and set on a cutting board or plate. Sprinkle a little sea salt and black pepper on both sides of the chicken breasts. Heat a small drizzle of olive oil in a cast iron skillet (I used one with ridges for pretty "grill" marks) over medium heat. Add chicken breasts, cook for 5-6 minutes then flip and cook another 5-6 minutes (or until cooked through). Once chicken cooked, transfer it to a (clean) cutting board then slice into long strips.
- Make vinaigrette: Add vinaigrette ingredients to a blender or small food processor, then pulse/blend until smooth.
- Prep and assemble the salad: To a large mixing bowl, add arugula/spinach mix, roasted butternut squash, red onions, minced figs, and sunflower seeds. Toss until ingredients are evenly distributed. Divide this mixture evenly between four low bowls or plates. Top with sliced chicken then a HEALTHY drizzle of sesame ginger vinaigrette and maybe a few extra sunflower seeds. ENJOY.
GUYS!!! WE MADE IT TO FRIDAY!!!
What are you doing this weekend?! Tom Brady is out of town again but this is the last of his travels until… WE GO TO IRELAND IN JULY OMG. I’ll be cooking up a storm for the blog, doing lots of backend blog stuff (yuck), attending a friend’s wedding shower, plus watching my nephew play football! Hope you have a fabulous weekend 🙂
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment or tag a photo #appetitesanonymous on instagram!! I’d love to see your salads in action. Peace, friends!
– a
p.s. Apparently, it’s National Doughnut Day!!!!!!! Yes, I finally decided that I prefer doughtnut over donut. Any who, you should totally make these PB&J doughnuts that I posted last week OR one of these other amazing doughnuts recipes:
triple dipped chocolate peanut butter doughnuts
black and white baked doughnuts
baked apple cinnamon brown butter doughnuts with maple rum brown butter glaze
baked lemon blueberry doughnuts
chocolate old fashioned doughnuts
homemade strawberry rhubarb jelly doughnuts
doughnuts with rich vanilla cream
blackberries and cream slider doughnuts
old-fashioned sour cream doughnuts
toasted coconut cake doughnuts
baked stout chocolate doughnuts with a chocolate glaze
baked brown butter champagne doughnuts
copycat krispy kreme doughnuts