Roasted Squash Salad with Burrata and Quinoa Crunch
To kick off squash season!
A few nights ago I did a little online show called TalkShopLive, and had the loveliest time chatting with Claire Saffitz (in case you missed it, you can still watch it and also order signed copies of my book!). I demoed a recipe from Veg Forward called Roasted Honeynut Squash with Quinoa Crunch while we talked. While I recalled this recipe as one I really liked, I had forgotten just how GOOD the star component of it was. It’s the Quinoa Crunch I’m talking about. I had to hold myself back from eating it with a spoon while I was on camera, and, when it was over, I actually did indulge in a spoonful. OMG, this stuff is so good! The squash recipe, while being utterly simple, illustrates how something kind of basic (and I don’t mean that as an insult) can be elevated to a whole other level when something like this Quinoa Crunch is sprinkled over the top. The labneh, fresh mint, sriracha, and cilantro don’t hurt either.
As soon as I made the Quinoa Crunch, I realized it was something I needed to make regularly, and perhaps in larger batches. During the show, Claire asked me what else the Quinoa Crunch would be good with, and I said (but don’t quote me) salads, oatmeal, maybe a savory yogurt bowl. My husband, Steve, regularly makes excellent use of all the remnants from my kitchen experiments, mashing them up into something new and unexpected (to me at least!). In a moment I’ll share that mini-recipe, totally inspired by (created by!) Steve!
But first, I inspired myself to come up with a craveable fall salad for you, using the produce star of the moment, SQUASH, and incorporating the Quinoa Crunch. Just like those gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, which are still hanging on (tomato, who?), the dizzying variety of winter squash has been inspiring me. Plus they’re so beautiful — I just like having them on my produce table (yes, that’s a thing in my house) to brighten things up. Lots of you mentioned squash in our discussion thread a few weeks ago.
