Roasted Squash Salad with White Beans, Bread Crumbs, and Preserved Lemon

Name: Roasted Squash Salad with White Beans, Bread Crumbs, and Preserved Lemon
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup (170 g) dried cannellini beans; 1 head garlic, halved crosswise; 1 bay leaf; 2 pounds (1 kg) kabocha, acorn, or butternut squash, seeded and sliced; ½ red onion, sliced ¼ inch thick; 2 cloves garlic, peeled; 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; ½ teaspoon sumac (optional); ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne or piment d’Espelette; 2 slices stale Sourdough Boules (this page) or other bread of choice; 2 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon rind (this page); 1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley; 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar; Microgreens or sprouts, for garnish (optional)

6 steps

This salad offers a serious combination of flavors and textures while still being simple and uncomplicated. The roasted squash and white beans are buttery, the bread crumbs add texture, and the preserved lemons offer a surprising floral brine. The beans need to soak for a few hours, so plan for that. You can certainly use canned beans instead, but simmering the soaked beans with bay and garlic will ultimately be more flavorful, and the soaked beans retain their texture better than canned ones. My preference is to keep the squash unpeeled if the skin is thin and free of too many hard bumps. MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 09:51:02 GMT

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Ingredients

6 servings

1 cupdried cannellini beans

1 headgarlic

halved crosswise

1bay leaf

2 poundskabocha

acorn, or butternut squash, seeded and sliced

0.5red onion

sliced 1/4 inch thick

2cloves garlic

peeled

4 tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil

divided

1 teaspoonkosher salt

1 teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoonground cumin

½ teaspoonsumac

optional

¼ teaspooncayenne

or piment d’Espelette

2slices Sourdough Boules

stale, this page, or other bread of choice

2 tablespoonspreserved lemon rind

finely chopped, this page

1 tablespoonitalian parsley

finely chopped

1 tablespoonred wine vinegar

Microgreens

or sprouts, for garnish, optional

Instructions

Step 1

1 Place the dried beans in a medium Dutch oven. Cover with water by 2 inches and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.

Step 2

2 Drain the soaking water from the beans and discard. Add more water so the beans are covered by 1 inch. Add the head of garlic and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the beans for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tender but not mushy. Drain the beans. Discard the bay leaf and garlic. The beans can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.

Step 3

3 While the beans are cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the squash, onion, garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, sumac, and cayenne together on a baking sheet. Bake the squash for 30 minutes, or until tender and golden brown.

Step 4

4 Place the bread in a food processor and pulse into chunky bread crumbs.

Step 5

Heat the remaining tablespoon olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, and add the bread crumbs. Stir until well coated with oil and toasted, about 2 minutes. Toss in the preserved lemon and parsley.

Step 6

5 Transfer the roasted vegetables to a platter. Top with the beans, bread crumbs, vinegar, and microgreens. Toss everything together and serve lukewarm or at room temperature.