Butternut Squash and Wild Rice

A beautiful fall side dish where every flavour loves each other. The kicker is the Sage-Maple Dressing that really pulls it all together.

Serves 4-6

• ½ cup wild rice, soaked overnight in water to cover by 1”
• 1 ½ cups vegetable or chicken broth
• ½ a large butternut squash, peeled and seeded (save the other half for another use)
• oil for drizzling
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup toasted chopped hazelnuts
• ¼ cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated or peeled with a vegetable peeler to make wide thin slices

Pickled Red Onion

• 1 to 1 ½ red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 peppercorns

Sage-Maple Dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 heaping tsp Dijon mustard
• 5-8 fresh sage leaves, or more if desire
• Salt, to taste

Make the pickled onion earlier in the day by packing a large mason jar with the onion. Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil and pour over the onion. Tuck in the bay leaf and peppercorns. Let stand until room temperature and refrigerate, covered, for several hours. This will make more than you need. Use the onion as a pickle with a meal, or serve on salads.

In a medium pot, bring the rice and broth to a boil. Cover and simmer until all water has been absorbed. Set aside to cool completely.

Set oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Cut the squash crosswise into ½” thick slices. Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper and the brown sugar. Toss well and transfer to the cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, until soft. Broil the slices lightly if desired. Set aside to cool.

Arrange the wild rice and squash decoratively on a serving platter. Scatter over some pickled onion, the cranberries and hazelnuts.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad. Grate over parmesan cheese and serve.