There is a certain art to making a good salad, at least that’s what I say to every salad naysayer I meet. Some people don’t understand that salad isn’t going to taste good if you just take pre-packaged, shredded iceberg lettuce and douse it in a salad dressing from the supermarket that’s unknowingly full of sugar, with a few carrot shavings thrown in.
In this salad, I decided to show off the true beauty of a simple roasted beet and butternut squash combo. The preparation is easy peasy with these two items, and you can definitely prep them the day before you make this salad, or even at the beginning of the week if you’re a meal prep Sunday type of person. If you really don’t want to spend an hour roasting veggies, many grocery stores have cooked and peeled beets and prepped or cooked butternut squash near the produce section. There’s no shame in this!
Anyways, the roasted beets and butternut squash are combined with crunchy toasted hazelnuts and creamy vegan ricotta cheese (I recommend Kite Hill!) served on top of a nice bed of spring mix. I chose spring mix because it has a lot of flavor. You could also opt for a spinach and arugula mixture, but try and choose a green that will contribute to taste rather than detract from it. For the salad dressing, I decided to make my own to keep it simple. Having total control over my salad dressing situation means that I can put whatever I want into it, including cannabis if I want to – and trust me, I really, really do.
I’ve been using Pantry Cannabis-Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil in my recipes lately because I love the taste and the vibrant green color! Just last week I made a paleo lemon olive oil loaf that was to die for. This time, I decided to use the olive oil in my simple salad dressing, made with stone-ground mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Yes, that’s it!
I didn’t give strict measurements on all the salad accoutrements because you can pretty much season and prep as much as you’d like. The medicated Pantry-infused salad dressing makes about a cup, which means a 2 tablespoon serving would have around 2.8mg THC if using Pantry’s 16 oz low-dose bottle. Happy salad making!
Serving size: 2 tablespoons dressing
THC per serving: ~2.8mg
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cooking Tools
Aluminum foil
Baking sheet
Vegetable peeler
Large bowl
Knife
Cutting board
Ingredients:
Beets
Butternut squash
Avocado oil (spray or oil)
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Toasted hazelnuts
Spring mix
Vegan ricotta cheese
For the dressing (makes ~1 cup dressing)
½ cup Pantry Cannabis-Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Directions:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425℉. Wash and dry beets. Prep them by cutting off each end, leaving some of the stalk on top. Poke a few holes into beets with a fork and wrap in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 40-50 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork. Alternatively, you can buy pre-made beets from the store.
Step 2
Prep butternut squash by cutting in half and removing the peel. Remove seeds from the base of squash and then cut into rings.
Step 3
Transfer butternut squash rings to a baking sheet. Spray or rub avocado oil into both sides of squash rings. Season both sides with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Roast in the oven 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway. Cut into desired shape when done.
Step 4
If roasting your own beets, remove peel and cut into thin slices.
Step 5
Make the medicated salad dressing by adding Pantry olive oil, ground mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a jar. Put lid on and shake until mixed together.
Step 6
In a large bowl, add spring mix, roasted butternut squash, roasted beets, toasted hazelnuts, vegan ricotta cheese, salad dressing, and toss with tongs to mix everything together. Enjoy!
Annie Trimber 