SERVES: 2 TO 3
TIME: 45 MINUTES
After 3 weeks of photography and looking at salad 8 hours a day, I asked food photographer Vanessa Rees for a salad idea. Thinking to stump me, she offered up her favorite veggie, kabocha squash, for the ultimate salad challenge. And here we are again, another favorite make-all-the-time recipe. While loaded with vegetables, this creation is pure comfort food: tender sweet kabocha, crunchy red cabbage, green beans, and edamame swirled with an aromatic coconut peanut sauce. Don’t skip the pickled ginger garnish; not just for sushi, its pickled spicy edge cuts through the richness of the sauce and squash.
COCONUT PEANUT 5-SPICE SAUCE
½ cup smooth, salted natural peanut butter
½ cup reduced-fat coconut milk
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon ume plum vinegar
¼ cup warm water
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, peeled
½ teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
¼ teaspoon salt
SALAD
1½ pounds kabocha (about 1 smallish 6- to 7-inch diameter squash), or about 4 heaping cups diced squash
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
½ pound green beans, ends trimmed
3 cups shredded red cabbage
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
½ cup roughly chopped roasted peanuts
Pickled ginger, for garnish
1 Blend all of the sauce ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
2 Don’t peel the kabocha squash; just scrub the outside and cut away any discolored bumps. Cut in half, scoop out the pulp and seeds, and dice the flesh into 1-inch pieces. In a large pot, steam for 12 to 14 minutes, until very tender; the last 3 minutes of steaming, add the edamame and green beans and steam until the edamame is tender and the green beans are bright green and tender but still have a little snap. Set the squash aside to cool slightly, but rinse the edamame and green beans with cold water to stop the cooking.
3 When you’re ready for salad, heap the shredded cabbage in large serving bowls. Top with the still-warm squash, green beans, edamame, scallions, and peanuts. Drizzle on the peanut sauce and garnish with about 1 tablespoon of pickled ginger per salad. Serve and pass around any remaining peanut sauce. Also yummy with a squirt of Sriracha on top!