Side Dishes Archives | True North Kitchen

Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pecans

It’s nice to have an elegant leafy green salad to include as part of a festive dinner or special occasion. So often these meals are centered around rich, heavy foods. Our family’s Christmas Eve Smörgåsbord when I was growing was a very heavy affair in various shades of white: scalloped potatoes, lutefisk, rice pudding, swedish meatballs in a cream gravy, lefse….you see the color pattern emerging here. A green salad can be a welcome, light addition to the traditional holiday table.

This Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pecans is the perfect way to weave some hearty winter vegetables into your holiday menu. Crispy kale, cubes of sweet roasted butternut squash and sliced red onions and crunchy pecans come together to create a memorable salad that pairs nicely with all manner of holiday dishes.

This Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pecans also holds well, and you can make the dressing and roast the vegetables and pecans in advance. Simply toss the salad ingredients together when you are ready to eat and you are good to go.

This salad also makes a nice main course, particularly if you scatter some cooked whole grains (rye berries or barley are both delicious) and a handful of crumbled goat cheese into the mixture.

Bring some much needed green to your holiday table this year and give this Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pecans a try! I think you and your guests will be glad you did.

Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pecans

A delicious fresh salad for winter with crispy kale, sweet roasted butternut squash and red onions and toasty pecans. It makes a tasty leafy green side dish or a hearty main coarse salad.

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings
Category: salad
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Ingredients

For the Salad:

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes

1 red onion, cut into ¼ inch thick slices

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

10-12 whole sage leaves

1 large bunch kale (Curly or Tuscan is fine), stems removed and chopped into bite-sized pieces

½ cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Vinaigrette, recipe follows

For the Vinaigrette:

1 small shallot, minced

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place squash and red onion on baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, stir and add sage leaves. Continue to roast until vegetables are tender and golden brown, about 10-15 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, whisk together ingredients for the vinaigrette in a small bowl, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer kale to a serving platter. Drizzle half the vinaigrette over the kale and massage it into the kale with your hands. Add roasted vegetables and pecans. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and gently toss to combine. Crumble the crispy sage leaves over the top. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

Keywords: kale, butternut squash, red onion, pecans, holiday, Christmas, winter, salad

Behold the humble celery root (also known as celeriac). Gnarly and a bit odd-looking, this root vegetable is probably not going to win any prizes based on appearance alone. But once you peel off that knobby exterior, you’ll find a creamy and delicious white flesh underneath, perfect for roasting, braising, mashing or even enjoying raw. The flavor is like a velvety and buttery version of traditional celery. It is one of my favorite winter vegetables and definitely worth getting to know better.

This easy and luxurious Celery Root and Potato Puree is a great place to begin. The recipe was inspired by one that I found in Bon Appetit magazine. Cubes of celery root and potato are cooked in a a mixture of milk and water until soft, and then pureed in food processor with a bit of butter until smooth. That’s all there is to it! Incredibly easy, yes, but the complex flavor and creamy texture of this Celery Root and Potato Puree is sure to delight and surprise your dining companions who might otherwise have been expecting plain old mashed potatoes.

Another wonderful thing about this Celery Root and Potato Puree…it reheats BEAUTIFULLY and makes a great make-ahead side dish for entertaining. You can confidently prepare this dish a day or two beforehand and simply warm it on the stove or even in the microwave when you are ready to serve….no compromise in flavor or texture. That’s my kind of side dish!

Tips for Working with Celery Root

If you’ve never worked with celery root before, I’ve got a few tips to help make this somewhat intimidating vegetable a little more approachable:

Choose an unblemished, firm, heavy celery root at the grocery store, preferably one with a bit of a greenish hue to it. These are all indicators of freshness.
Rinse the celery root thoroughly and pat it dry before peeling.
Cut both of the ends off of the celery root and place one of the flat ends on your cutting board. This will keep the vegetable from wobbling around as you try to peel and cut it.
Using a paring or chef’s knife, remove the outer layer of knobby skin, working from the top of the celery root down to the trimmed end. It is almost impossible to peel a celery root with a vegetable peeler. The skin is much too thick and irregular in shape. A knife is the tool for the job.
Once the peel is removed, slice into planks, and then into strips and finally into cubes.
Work quickly after slicing. Celery root will begin to turn brown once it is exposed to air, much like apples do. For this recipe, simply transfer the cut celery root to a large pot along with the potatoes and cover with the water and milk mixture. If you are going to eat the celery root raw or don’t plan to cook it right away, you can always toss it with a little lemon juice to help maintain it’s snowy white appearance.
Know that celery root takes awhile to become tender. This recipe calls for a full 30 minutes of cooking once the potatoes and celery root come to a boil. Don’t skimp on the cooking time and check to see that the vegetables are tender before proceeding.

Please give this delicious, sophisticated side dish a try and let me know how it turns out in the comments below. It makes a great pair for salmon, roasted mushrooms, seared steaks, roast chicken…..the options are endless. It might just become the new mashed potatoes at your house!

Celery Root and Potato Puree

An easy, sophisticated puree of celery root and potatoes. Unbelievably creamy and delicious and completely make-ahead. A great option for elegant and effortless entertaining!

Author: Kristi
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Yield: 10-12 servings
Category: side dishes
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian

Ingredients

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch chunks

2 large celery roots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

½ onion, quartered

4 cups water

4 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon coarse salt, plus more to taste

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Place potatoes, celery root and onion a large pot and cover with water and milk. Add salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until potatoes and celery root are very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and discard cooking liquid.
Transfer half of the potatoes and celery root to a food processor along with 4 tablespoons of butter. Process until smooth and transfer to a serving bowl. Repeat with remaining potatoes, celery root and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve. (Puree can be prepared a day ahead and reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop just before serving).

Notes

This recipe can easily be halved for a smaller crowd.

Keywords: celery root, celeriac, potatoes, puree, mashed potatoes, easy side dish, make ahead side dish, root vegetable mash