Purple Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash

Now that finals are over, I can catch up on some past meals. Introducing: Pre-final Posts Series.

Pre-final Post 1:

So one major negative that I have come to find in squash is dealing with removing the skin. Easy thing if you are roasting it whole and scooping out the innards but if you want to roast cubes of the meat, you have to peel the thing first. BIG hassle.

Enter Delicata squash. These little beauties have a thin enough skin that peeling is not necessary! This unfortunately means that they will most likely not grow in Michigan late into the winter. But I do appreciate their deliciousness now!

Purple Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash

The way this salad is constructed cooks the kale without actually cooking it! Therefore perfect for raw kale haters. Plus the sweet squash is the absolute best texture/taste/whole package of goodness.

Ingredients:
1 Delicata squash, halved and seeded (1)
2 t oil (2)
1 T balsamic vinegar (2)
1 T maple syrup (3)
a few leaves of purple (or regular) kale, de-stemmed and cut into bit sized pieces (4)
1 small onion, finely chopped (1)
1 garlic clove, minced (4)
1 T red wine vinegar (2)
salt and pepper (2)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F
Cut squashes into 1/2" semicircles.
Toss with 1 T oil and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.
Whisk together balsamic vinegar and maple syrup.
Brush mixture onto squash slices, reserving extra liquid.
Bake squash for 5 more minutes.
Turn on the broiler and broil for a few minutes to add color.

Place kale in a large bowl.
Heat remaining 1 t oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
Add red wine vinegar and the reserved balsamic-maple syrup mixture and bring to a boil.
Immediately pour the hot dressing over the kale.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover bowl of kale with something that will keep in the steam (I used a large plate).
Leave be for 5 minutes.
Toss kale to cover leaves with dressing.
Serve with squash slices.

(1) Some farm stand at the AA Farmers Market, my fail for not noting the name...
(2) Bulk section at the People's Food Co-op
(3) Curry's Maple Syrup
(4) Tantre Farm