Warm Winter Salad | Eating Seasonally

This pretty dish takes a new look at “salad” for the colder months! A Warm Winter Salad such as this is a lovely, moreish change from the fresh light greens of summer, or from your regular pan of roasted root veggies. It features local and seasonal winter veggies and fruit, with a touch of salty prosciutto or capers to really ground and round out the flavours.

What on earth is a Quince?

Quince is a fruit that lands somewhere between an apple and a pear – I have heard it described as “a fuzzy pear that refuses to ripen”. It is quite hard and astringent, and tastes rather horrible raw, but quince cooks up absolutely beautifully! Retaining some of its astringency and tartness, it also becomes sweet, soft and light – gorgeous!

If you can’t find quince in your area, pomegranate is a wonderful substitute in this winter salad, as is pear or citrus, all of which are in season from approximately October throughout the winter.

Vegan option

To make this salad vegan or vegetarian friendly, you can substitute the prosciutto for salty olives or capers. Don’t skip the salty flavour in this salad!

Warm Winter Salad

Recipe by Emily HardingCourse: AIP, Dinner, Paleo, Recipes, Salad, Vegan, Veggies

Servings

4-6

servings

Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium kabocha or large acorn squash, cut in 4-6 wedges

• 1 large fennel bulb, sliced thin

• 2 small quinces, sliced OR arils of ½ pomegranate*

• zest of 1 orange

• 4-6 slices prosciutto, sliced in narrow ribbons OR 1 Tbsp capers*

• drizzle quality olive oil

Method

• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Place squash wedges on a lined baking sheet, and arrange fennel and quince on a separate lined baking sheet. Roast squash for 20 minutes, then add fennel tray to oven as well. Roast both pans another 20-30 minutes or until squash is soft and fennel and quince are starting to brown slightly.
• While they are roasting, zest your citrus.
• Remove squash, fennel and quince from the oven, and arrange squash wedges on a platter or individual plates. Top each wedge with equal amounts fennel, quince (or pomegranate), prosciutto (or capers), and citrus zest. Drizzle with olive oil.
• Serve salad warm, by the wedge.

Recipe Notes

• *If substituting pomegranate for quince, do not roast them – use arils fresh at end of salad assembly.
• *If subbing capers, add after roasting.

Did you love this Warm Winter Salad? Try these Winter recipes next:

Savoury Prosciutto Date Cups

Ginger Lime Borscht