Butternut Squash & Cabbage Salad, and a Giveaway!
Welcome to the fourth week of A Gluten-Free Holiday, where it’s all about your favorite holiday entrees and side dishes! We’re also doing another great cookbook giveaway, where this week it’s a copy of my book The Pure Kitchen. (Scroll down for details on how to enter!)
I have so enjoyed browsing through the dozens of fantastic, healthier recipes contributed by all of you eager holiday cooks over the past few weeks. Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on:
- Week One: Healthier Through the Holidays at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
- Week Two: Thanksgiving Favorites at Cook It Allergy Free (many of these would work for Christmas, too!)
- Week Three: Edible Gifts of Good Taste at Tasty Eats at Home
When it comes to holiday entrees and sides, my family is not steeped in tradition. Over the years, we’ve savored everything from salmon to cornish hens to roast beef for the holidays, and side dishes have spanned just about every region and ethnicity I can think of. It really doesn’t matter to me what I’m eating for the holiday meal. All the fun is found in preparing it and sharing it with people you love.
Cooking, especially around the holidays, is my favorite way of spreading the spirit of joy to others and cultivating it in my own heart. On chilly December days, there is no place I’d rather be than in a fragrant kitchen with pots simmering and cookies baking, Bing Crosby’s White Christmas wafting through the air.
As much as I love just about any festive holiday dish, I really love it when side dishes steal the show at the table and when people leave talking about that amazing kale salad or bowl of roasted squash. Today I’m combining my love of many great side dish ingredients into one knock-out salad that you could make all winter long.
This Butternut Squash & Cabbage Salad has a smooth maple dressing that gets it’s creaminess from a secret ingredient: blanched almond flour. A few tablespoons blended into the dressing offers just enough weight to smooth it out and give the dressing almost a buttery aftertaste. If you don’t have almond flour on hand, feel free to grind up blanched almonds in a spice grinder or high-speed blender. I think homemade meal would work just fine here.
More Healthy Holiday Entrees & Sides:
- Savory Baked Apples from Cook It Allergy Free
- Savory Sweet Potato Pie from Tasty Eats at Home
- Sweet Potato & Kale Hash with Curried Quinoa from Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
- Creamy Potato Leek Soup from Diet, Dessert, and Dogs
- Rustic Salad Dressing from She Let Them Eat Cake
The Giveaway
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. The winner is Julie. Congrats!
One winner will receive a signed copy of The Pure Kitchen, just in time for Christmas and New Year’s! If you’ve been looking high and low for nutritious but flavorful recipes to add to your arsenal, this book is for you. When I wrote it, I had in mind the type of people who want to eat well without sacrificing flavor, texture, and the “mmm” factor when it comes to their meals. Everything in this book is made for people who love to eat!
Enter by doing one or all of the following:
- Link up your favorite holiday entree or side recipe at the bottom of this post.
- Leave a comment on this post.
- Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Please leave a comment for each time you’ve shared.
Contest ends Wednesday, December 7th at 11:59 pm CST. Winner will be contacted via email. Contest open to US and Canada residents only.
Butternut Squash & Cabbage Salad with Creamy Maple Dressing
Serves 4
For the salad:
1 small (1 ½ pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
4 ½ – 5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
¼ cup pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries
For the dressing:
3 tablespoons blanched almond flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dark maple syrup, preferably Grade B
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
Preheat the oven to 400°F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash cubes with the olive oil using your hands. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned in spots. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, parsley, shallot, almonds, and pomegranate seeds. Add the cooled squash and toss gently to combine.
Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving, or cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Serve at room temperature.
This is a great idea for New Year’s day!
Yum Hallie. I can’t wait to try your salad, but especially the salad dressing and its secret ingredient!
Thanks so much – I’ve have been looking for ways to use up an abundance of greeen cabbage!
That salad looks great, thanks for sharing and the chance to win!
I am enthralled! I just found your site through NourishingMeals.com and cannot wait to try some of your recipes. I would SO love to have your cookbook. You even have thumbprint cookies with permitted ingredients. My tastebuds are doing a happy little dance in anticipation of the lovely flavors they will savor when I make your recipes. Yum yum!!
Hallie, this looks like a beauty of a salad.
xoLexie
We always do a non-traditional thing for xmas….crab is a favorite!!
Tweeted this post!
The salad looks delicious! Would love to be a winner – thanks for the giveaway!
I love slaw of any kind! This looks amazing cannot wait to try it!
Soooo excited to have the chance to win your cookbook! I’m gluten- free all the way! Thanks so much!
This salad looks amazing! And I would love to win the cookbook too! What a great post and giveaway…
oh, you had me at butternut but then sealed the deal with cabbage. two ingredients that i dearly love!
thank you for the giveaway!
Hmm…I just happen to have some butternut squash and cabbage hanging around from our final CSA share. I may have to make this!
What a beautiful salad!
Interesting idea to use almond flour in the salad dressing! I would love to win a copy of the cookbook!
This salad looks delicious! Can’t wait to give it a try!!! Thanks for sharing it with us.
I would love to win your cookbook-it looks fantastic! I shared my Sweet Potatoes and Pears recipe.
Your blog and recipes are beautiful. I look forward to perusing it more! Thanks!
Just found you through Ricki’s blog. Will be making your salad tomorrow, I actually have all the ingredients!
Sounds yummy! You have great recipes. I can’t wait to make them all!
This recipe looks delicious! Thank you :)
So glad I found this site! Thank you for all the great recipes!!!!!!!!!!
Everything looks good, I cant wait to try baking some of your goodie! I found you through gluten free easy.
any suggestions for a substitute if we can’t get butternut squash?? maybe kabocha? thanks!
I make pumpkin pie without milk. So far, I’m still experimenting.
This book may just be the think I need to get on the no gluten train. the recipes look right up my alley…and tastes. Motivatiob, that’s what I need, motivation. It will giv me motivation. yay
Oh my goodness, I should have edited before I hit the submit button. Time to go nighty-night
This looks interesting, and a friend of mine recently found out that she can’t eat gluten – I’d love to be able to cook for her.
Love Daily Bites, am having fun checking out recipes. Making the butternut squash and cabbage today.
Oh, this is exciting! Currently my favorite recipe is super simple. It doesn’t even have a name, but it is my favorite things to make for desert of even for a meal. It uses butternut squash, apples, a little bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
To make this recipe, simply core and cut up the apples, cut up the butternut squash and de-seed and de-skin it. (Best with a good sharp knive, Pampered Chef has good ones!) Throw this in a steep pan for the oven, ( I use the Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker) then simply sprinkle maybe a table spoon of brown sugar over it, then add as much spices as you desire.
Throw this in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour. When it comes out, it is the best thing ever!
Just shared this with my facebook friends! I have quite a few who are allergic to wheat and/or dairy.
I can’t wait to try the ice cream, I am actually going to attempt to make it into gelato! :P
I’m so happy to find there are resources for not just gluten free but sugar and dairy free!
Just found your site and love it! Will definitely be trying this salad. Our GF/DF family is always on the lookout for new recipes. Thank you!
My favorite holiday soup is Squash Soup… see my recipe here:
http://kiwitomyheart.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/squash-soup/
I am also looking for a gluten free cookbook to give my boyfriend’s dad for Christmas… yours looks great!
This book looks great!
What a colorful salad and healthy comfort food at its best. Thanks for all the great recipes Hallie, and a chance to win a copy of your cookbook.
Can’t wait to experience the “mmm” factor in your cookbook’s recipes! ;)
Shared on FB!
Shared your blog and giveaway on Facebook.
I’d love to win! We’re always looking for new, healthy, allergy friendly options. One of my favourite holiday treats is probably amaretti.
I was just reading about your cookbook on Amazon.com and it sounds great. I haven’t made any of your recipes yet but have bookmarked some to try very soon. The salad looks delicious.
This looks great! Butternut squash is one on my favorite during the winter, always trying to find new ways to include it thank-you
Sue