Great Edibles Recipes: Buddernut Squash Salad

Butternut squash is by far my favorite gourd of the fall season – it’s so creamy, buttery, perfect for roasting and grilling, and it never fails to be completely fulfilling and satisfying at just about any time of the day! This medicated butternut squash salad will be sure to crank up your taste buds with bright and citrus-y dressing, and make you wanna snuggle up with all these fall flavors, such as dried cranberries, squash, and nuts.

 Serves, 2-4

Here’s What You Need:

Butternut Squash Salad

• 1 small butternut squash (peeled, cubed and roasted with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil for seasoning)
• 4 cups of baby spinach or arugula
• 2 cups of chopped kale (or baby kale)
• ½ cup dried cranberries (you can also substitute dried cherries or pomegranate arils here)
• ¼ cup crushed walnuts
• ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles
• salt and black pepper to taste

Citrus Dressing

• ¼ cup organic apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup cannabis-infused extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon organic honey
• 1 tablespoon grainy or spicy brown mustard (yellow mustard is not recommended)
• the juice and zest of one medium orange
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh rosemary
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

How to Make Buddernut Squash Salad

To begin, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, thoroughly wash the baby spinach and add it to a large salad bowl.

Then, wash the butternut squash, peel the skin, slice it in half length-wise and core the inside.

Continue to chop the squash until you’re left with nothing but tiny cubes.

Lightly spray a baking tray with some nonstick cooking spray, and then lay the butternut squash cubes out across the surface of the tray.

Sprinkle all of the cubes with salt and pepper and drizzle them with some traditional extra virgin olive oil. You can also choose to use cannabis-infused olive oil here, but in that case, you may want to go light on the citrus dressing (please always remember to medicate to your specific needs).

Place the seasoned butternut squash cubes into the preheated oven and bake them for 30-40 minutes, stirring often to prevent any charring. When ready, the squash cubes will be golden-brown in color and tender but not mushy.

Remove the butternut squash from the oven and allow them to cool.

After, add the feta cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts and a dash of some salt and pepper to the large salad bowl containing the baby spinach.

When the squash cubes have cooled down, add them to the salad and give all of the ingredients a nice toss.

Set the bowl to the side until you’re ready to dress it prior to serving.

To create a citrus dressing, begin by pouring in ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar into a small bowl.

Then, juice and zest 1 medium orange, and add both of these by-products to your apple cider vinegar.

Proceed to add white wine vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper to your small bowl, and stir all the ingredients.

Finally, drizzle in the cannabis-infused olive oil, whisking while you drizzle in order to create an emulsion. You can also add all of these ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend on low until an emulsion is created.

When ready to serve, drizzle your medicated citrus dressing over your salad and give everything a good toss.

Serve the salad in individual bowls, or as a side to a home-cooked dinner. Enjoy!