Butternut Squash & Beetroot salad with Goat Cheese Cutlet
Roasted Butternut Squash, Beetroot, and arugula salad tossed in balsamic vinaigrette dressing, garnished with juicy pomegranate seeds and pumpkin seeds, topped with baked goat cheese cutlet!
Salads do not have to be boring and should not feel like you are eating nothing but just plain grass. This salad is a perfect example of that. It is super hearty, flavorful, nutritious and filling. The earthy root vegetable and sweet buttery squash keeps you full for long time. It has my all time favorite green Arugula!! Juicy pomegranates, nuts and seeds adds perfect amount of crunch and flavors to it. And most importantly, and most fun part of this salad is baked goat cheese cutlets!!
This is THE ultimate Holiday salad that you could ever have!! Make a big platter of this with warm crunchy cutlets from outside yet ooey gooey soft from inside! The combination of flavors and texture is like just perfect in this dish. I personally feel super full with a serving of this salad for long time, which is a big plus. If you are a big salad friend, check out my Tortellini Pasta Salad, you will surely like it!
Butternut Squash & Beetroot salad with Goat Cheese Cutlet has been our family favorite this winter, and I hope it becomes your favorite too!! If you end up making it and liking it, tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots. I would love to see your recreation of this deliciousness!
Happy & Healthy Eating!
Butternut Squash & Beetroot salad with Goat Cheese Cutlet
Ingredients
Roasted Beetroots
- 2 large Beetroots peeled and cubed
- ½ tsp Dry Thyme
- ½ tsp Black Pepper Powder
- ½ tsp Sea Salt pink salt or regular salt would work too
- 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Roasted Butternut Squash
- 12 oz Butternut Squash Peeled, seeded and cubed (I prefer buying precut, makes the process quicker and easier)
- 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter Melted
- ⅛ pinch Nutmeg Powder
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon Powder
- 1 tsp Brown Sugar coconut sugar would work great too!
Goat Cheese Cutlets
- 10 oz Cold Goat Cheese Log
- 1 cup Seasoned Panko
- 1 tsp Oil
- ½ tsp Crushed Red Peppers
- 1 large Garlic Clove minced
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ tsp Dry Oregano
- ¼ tsp Dry Thyme
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 pinch Black Pepper Powder
- 2 Flax Eggs you can use regular eggs or make flax eggs by mixing 2 tbsp flax meal with 6 tbsp of warm water
Dressing
- 2 small Roasted Shallots roasted with squash and beets
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- ½ tsp Dry Oregano
- ½ tsp Dry Thyme
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 small Garlic Cloves
Other ingredients
- 1 cup Fresh Pomegranate Seeds
- ¾ cup Roasted Salted Pumpkin Seeds or chopped pistachios
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
- 5 oz Fresh Baby Arugula I like to buy pre-washed, ready to use organic arugula
Instructions
Roast Veggies
- Preheat oven on 425°F.
- Mix cubed beetroots, salt, pepper, dry thyme and extra virgin olive oil. Coat all cubes well and place it on half of the baking tray.
- Mix butternut squash, melted butter, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder and brown sugar. Coat all cubes well and place it on the other half of the baking tray.
- Bake them all together for 15 minutes. Check on the butternut squash (they will cook faster then beetroots). They should feel soft while touching, and just enough crunch on bitting.
- Once butternut squash is roasted, take it out of the baking tray and keep it on side to cool down.
- Keep roasting cubed beetroots for another 10 minutes. They should feel soft while touching, and just enough crunch on bitting. Once roasted, take it out of the baking tray and keep it on side to cool down.
Bake Goat Cheese Cutlets
- If using regular eggs, eat 2 eggs and keep them on side. If using flax eggs, mix 2 tbsp of flax meal with 6 tbsp of warm water and keep it on side.
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan. Saute minced garlic and crushed red peppers until raw smell of garlic disappears.
- Add salt, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano and thyme. Mix well.
- Add panko and mix well. Keep it aside.
- Cut the cold goat cheese log in 10 even pieces.
- Dip each goat cheese slice in flax egg/regular egg mixture, then coat them with generous amount of panko mix. Repeat it for all goat cheese slices.
- Freeze them for 15-20 minutes or keep it in the refrigerator if making them ahead of time.
- Right before serving, bake them on 375°F for 15 minutes.
Make Dressing
- Place all the ingredients listed under "Dressing" in a blender jar. Blend it to smooth dressing consistency. Keep it aside or in the refrigerator if making it ahead of time.
Assembly
- Place arugula, roasted beets, roasted butternut squash, ¾ cup of pomegranate seeds and ½ cup of pumpkin seeds (or pistachio) in a wide salad bowl.
- Pour the dressing in the bowl and toss the salad carefully.
- Place the salad in a big serving plate, garnish it with leftover ¼ cup of pomegranate seeds and ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle ¼ cup of shredded coconut.
- Place baked goat cheese cutlet on top of the salad and serve it immediately!!
