| Servings | Prep Time |
| 2 for lunch, or 4 as a starter | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 25 minutes |
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Soft and sweet roasted acorn squash is the perfect contrast to crunchy, bitter radicchio. Studded with grilled slabs of halloumi cheese and bejeweled with pomegranate seeds, it's perfect balance on a plate. Better yet, you can easily up the quantities of everything for a light side at the holidays that's still seasonably filling.
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- 1 small acorn squash about 1-1/2 pounds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 t-spoon kosher salt
- 1 head radicchio about 6-ounces
- A small handful baby arugula
- 4 ounces halloumi sliced into 1/4" thick slabs
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 1-1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 t-spoon kosher salt
- A small pinch sugar (scant 1/8 t-spoon)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Peel protruding ridges of squash with a vegetable peeler, leaving the peel in the crevasses behind—doing this will help the squash to keep its shape when roasting. Cut in half lengthwise (top to bottom), scoop out the seeds, and slice into half moons about 1/2” thick.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a roasting tray and lay the squash on the tray, smooshing the oil around to spread.
- Sprinkle over about half of the salt, and then flip the squash over and move them around so the bottoms get coated in some oil. Sprinkle over the remaining salt and slide the tray into the oven.
- Roast for 15 minutes, flip the squash over, and roast for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the red wine vinegar, salt and sugar until they dissolve. Toss in the sliced shallots, mix to combine, and set aside.
- Tear the radicchio into bite-sized bits (quarter it top to bottom so you have wedges, remove the core, and break up the leaves) and scatter over the plates or a serving platter.
- When the squash has a few minutes left, start to heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once it’s hot add in the slices of halloumi in a single layer. Grill them for just a few minutes per side, until they’re golden and crisped on the outside and supplely soft within. If the squash finishes roasting before you’re done with the cheese don’t worry—they can rest on the stove top for a few minutes and they’ll stay fairly warm, or shut off the oven and leave them in, maybe cracking the door slightly if they’re going to be in there a while.
- Lay the roasted squash crescents over the white veined, purple-red leaves of the radicchio, and then tuck in the golden halloumi slabs into the salad.
- Whisk the extra virgin olive oil into the quick pickled shallots, and spoon them along with their pickling liquid-gone-dressing over the salads.
- Stud the salad with the ruby pomegranate seeds, and serve right away.
- If you’re going to get a whole pomegranate and get the seeds out yourself, and not just buy the aerials themselves at the grocery store, I recommend doing that first. To prepare a pomegranate, fill either a large bowl or your sink with water, cut the very top off the fruit, and then score the outer-most layer of the skin as if you were going to cut a quarter off the fruit. Holding it over the water, peel the scored section off the fruit, and then pull the fruit apart, in half. You can hold the halved pom firmly in one hand over the water, and belt its backside with a wooden spoon to knock the seeds loose, or continue to break the fruit up and gently knock the seeds loose with your fingers. The seeds will sink to the bottom and any of the foamy, pithy membrane that traps them will float to the top, making it easy to separate it from the seeds before draining the bowl.
- Most halloumi, in my experience, has been gluten free AND rennet free so it's suitable for vegetarians and people with gluten issues. Double check your brand, though, if it's a concern. (And the same goes for vinegar with regards to being gluten free).