Sweet roast butternut squash together with dried cranberries, black rice, arugula and a crunchy toasted pecan crumb makes a delicious vegan salad recipe that will shine throughout Thanksgiving, Christmas and all season long.
Remove the outer skin of the pumpkin and dice it into 2cm cubes. Drizzle with olive oil, paprika and sea salt, roast in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.Turn the pumpkin around and roast for another 5 minutes until golden brown.
Wash the uncooked black rice thoroughly. Add ½ cup black rice and 1 cup water into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium to high heat. Cover the saucepan and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.Once it’s cooked, turn the heat off and let it sit for a further 10 minutes. Transfer the cooked into a small mixing bowl and let it cool down.
Place ½ cup of raw pecans into a food processor and pulse several times so that it resembles a chunky crumb. If you don’t have a food processor, roughly chop into small pieces.
In a large fry pan, over medium-high heat add ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.
Add crushed pecans, breadcrumbs, maple syrup and sea salt and toast for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown and fragrant.
Remove from the pan and set aside for assembly.
Salad Dressing
Add orange juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and maple syrup in a mason jar.
Season with salt and pepper and shake well to combine.
Assembly
In a large mixing bowl, add roasted pumpkin, black rice and cranberries.
Add salad dressing to the bowl and toss together.
Add washed arugula (rocket leaves) and ¾ toasted pecan crumb to bowl and gently mix.
Transfer to a large serving plate, then scatter remaining toasted pecan crumbs on top.
Serve.
Notes
This recipe would work with roasted sweet potatoes or any other squash/pumpkin you like.
If you don’t have pecans, you can substitute with walnuts. Alternatively, for a nut free salad, leave out the pecans and use toasted breadcrumbs.
You can prepare this salad in advance, including dressing the salad but leave out the arugula/rocket leaves and toasted pecan crumbs until you are ready to serve.