For the dressing:
Winter Wheat Salad with Butternut Squash
- 4 cups cooked wheat berries (see instructions above)
- 2 cups broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 4-6 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
- 2 Tb olive oil
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into cubes, about ½ inch to an inch
- ½ cup green onions, thinly sliced
- Optional: 1 lb bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- Zest and juice of 1 orange
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tb red pepper flakes
Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients and set aside.
In a saucepan of boiling water, cook the butternut squash for five-seven minutes until it is tender. Drain and set aside.
Do the same for the broccoli, cooking it for about three minutes in boiling water until it is brilliant green and crisp tender.
In a skillet, sauté the spinach in a little olive oil until it is just wilted.
In a bowl, toss all of the ingredients together with the salad dressing. Let the salad rest for a few minutes before serving to let the flavors mingle nicely.
This salad is a great standalone meal or is lovely as a side dish. It also is quite nice heated up and topped with a fried egg as a breakfast entrée, which I personally did with my leftovers.
