A ginger marinade recipe by Ali Slagle from Food52 inspired me to work this flavorful butternut squash into a salad. The hardy winter spinach from the farmers' market is a nice complement to the squash and quinoa adds protein making a meal out of this salad. Roast the squash until it is just tender you don't want it falling apart in your salad or on your fork. You can serve the butternut squash right after it is done marinating in the bowl or store in a lidded container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This salad will easily serve six people.

Marinated Butternut Squash Salad

Adapted from Ali Slagle

For the squash:

8 cups of butternut squash peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 T olive oil
Salt

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the squash with olive oil until evenly coated, salt and add to prepared pan. Roast in the oven until just tender, about 18 minutes.

For the Marinade:

2 T fresh lime juice
2 green onions, white and light green parts finely diced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 c olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, green onion and cayenne pepper. Use a Microplane grater to grate the garlic and ginger into the bowl, add the honey and oil and whisk to combine. Season with salt.

When the squash is just tender, immediately transfer the hot squash to the bowl with the marinade, toss to combine, and seal with foil. Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

For the Salad

6 c fresh spinach

1 c cooked quinoa

Toss spinach and quinoa with half of the warm butternut squash or refrigerate the squash and serve with salad later in the week.