Kale, delicata squash and persimmon salad

Kale, delicata squash and persimmon salad

Persimmons have a short season, so if you can’t get any, here’s how to substitute and remix for the seasons:

Northern hemisphere: apple, pear, citrus (orange, blood orange or pomelo)

Southern hemisphere: plum, cherries, mango. Swap out Delicata squash for a summer vegetable like charred green beans or barbecued/grilled eggplant. Both would work well with the dressing.

Serves 4

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Ingredients

• 2 Delicata squash (about 675g / 1 1/2 pounds), sliced into 1/2-inch / 1.25cm rounds, seeds discarded
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
• sea salt and black pepper
• 1 bunch kale, leaves removed and torn (about 4 heaped cups or 180g / 6 ounces of leaves)
• 2 persimmons, stem removed, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 sliced scallions or handful chopped coriander/cilantro leaves (or both)
• handful toasted almonds or walnuts, roughly chopped

Miso Mustard dressing

• 1 garlic clove, finely grated (I use microplane)
• ½ inch / 1.25cm piece ginger, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon miso paste
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 6 teaspoons (2 US tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil
• 3 teaspoon (1 US tablespoon) water

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C / 400˚F.

2. Place the Delicata squash on a baking sheet, scatter over the cumin seeds, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Arrange in a single layer and roast until the Delicata is tender and golden on the bottom, 18 to 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl (big enough for all the salad ingredients) place the dressing ingredients - garlic, ginger, mustard, miso, maple, olive oil – along with 1 tablespoon of water and whisk to combine. Season well with salt and pepper and whisk again. Add the kale leaves and massage the leaves in the dressing, rubbing the leaves a little, just enough to coat and soften the leaves slightly. Don’t overdo it as we still want the leaves to have structure. Leave the kale to sit for 10 minutes, or up to several hours.

4. To the kale, add the Delicata squash, persimmons and herbs, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. When you’re ready to eat, top with nuts.