Today is the first day of fall, so it is only appropriate to post the perfect fall salad today: Spiced Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad. The sweetness of the squash combined with the nuttiness of the French Puy lentils and the creamy tang of the goat cheese equals a hearty welcome to the fall with an explosion of different flavours and textures.

I can’t seem to get enough of the early fall squashes that have been hitting our farmers’ market lately. After a summer of too many zucchinis, the earthiness of the fall squashes, especially when roasted, are making me look forward to lots of experimenting with them over the upcoming months. This salad recipe makes enough for 6 salads at $1.25 per serving.

Spiced Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad
3/4 cup French Puy green lentils
2 pounds peeled seeded butternut squash or sugar pumpkin
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups baby arugula
1 cup soft goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Put the lentils in a small bowl, and cover them with water and let them soak for around 10 minutes. Drain them and then cook the lentils in boiling salted water until they are tender but still have a bit of bite to them, around 30 minutes. Drain the lentils and rinse them under cold water to stop them from cooking, then drain again and let them cool.

Combine the cumin, paprika, and sea salt with 2 tablespoons of olive oil to create the marinade for the butternut squash.

We decided to grill the squash on the bbq, so I brushed the marinade onto the halved squash and let it cook until the squash was tender and had some nice grill marks on it, around 15 to 20 minutes. Then I cut up the squash into 1-inch cubes for the salad and let it cool.

If you don’t want to grill the squash, you can preheat an oven to 375¬?F and roast them. Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes and toss the pieces with the marinade. Place the squash in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast them for 20 minutes. Turn the pieces over and let them roast until they are tender for a further 10 to 15 minutes. Once the squash is cooked, let it cool before assembling the salad.

To serve the salad, lay down a bed of arugula and then top with the lentils, butternut squash, and goat cheese. Sprinkle the chopped mint over the salad and season with salt and pepper. Dress with olive oil and red wine vinegar for a hearty fall treat.