Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Tahini Caesar
An autumn salad that gets even better as it sits: finely shredded raw Brussels sprouts massaged with a creamy tahini Caesar dressing, then piled with caramelized roasted butternut squash, crisp apple, pomegranate, sweet Medjool dates, shaved Manchego, and maple-toasted pecans.
Yield: Serves 6 · Active: 25 min · Total: 45 min · Best in North America in fall, when squash, Brussels sprouts, apples, and pomegranates are harvested · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
Roasted squash
3 cups butternut squash, cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tbsp raw honey or maple syrup
Baja Gold sea salt and black pepper
Maple-toasted pecans
½ cup pecan halves
1–2 tsp maple syrup
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Salad
1 lb Brussels sprouts, finely shredded
1 large apple (like Honeycrisp or Pink Lady), thinly sliced and tossed with a squeeze of lemon
¾ cup pomegranate arils
½ cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
⅓ cup shaved Manchego or Parmigiano-Reggiano
Tahini Caesar dressing
¼ cup tahini
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chopped capers, plus 1 tsp caper brine
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1–2 tbsp warm filtered water
Baja Gold sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Optional: 1 tsp anchovy paste and 2 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Method
Roast the squash. Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the squash with the olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper, and roast in a single layer for 25–30 minutes, tossing once, until golden and caramelized.
Toast the pecans. Toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, until fragrant. Toss with the maple syrup and salt, and let them cool on parchment.
Make the dressing. Whisk all the dressing ingredients until completely smooth, adding warm water until it's pourable.
Massage the sprouts. Toss the shredded sprouts with the dressing, then massage it in with clean hands or tongs for 1–2 minutes, until the sprouts soften slightly.
Assemble. Pile the dressed sprouts on a platter, and top with the roasted squash, apple, pomegranate, dates, shaved cheese, and pecans.
Make ahead: This salad is even better made an hour or two ahead, as the dressing softens the sprouts and the flavors meld. Dress the sprouts and add the squash, pomegranate, and dates ahead, then add the apple, cheese, and pecans just before serving.
Storage
The assembled salad keeps refrigerated up to 2 days, though the apple browns and the sprouts soften. The dressing keeps up to 5 days, the toasted pecans up to 1 week in an airtight container, and the roasted squash up to 3 days. It's best assembled the morning of serving.
A note on honey: The honey on the squash is roasted, so it's no longer raw. Honey shouldn't be given to babies under 12 months.
Nourishment Notes
Brussels sprouts and butternut squash are autumn vegetables at heart. Brussels sprouts bring glucosinolates, the same compounds found in broccoli, kale, and cabbage, which convert to sulforaphane when the sprouts are chopped and chewed. Sulforaphane is well studied for supporting the liver's Phase 2 detoxification pathways and the body's own antioxidant defenses, including estrogen metabolism. Eating the sprouts raw, softened by the dressing, preserves myrosinase, the heat-sensitive enzyme that triggers this conversion, which cooking partly destroys. Butternut squash brings beta-carotene (which your body turns into vitamin A), potassium, vitamin C, and steady, warming carbohydrates as the days grow shorter.
The tahini Caesar reimagines the classic Caesar, created by Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, in the 1920s, through a Middle Eastern lens. Tahini brings calcium, magnesium, copper, and sesame lignans (sesamin and sesamolin), studied for their antioxidant effects. Capers add quercetin and rutin, raw garlic brings allicin, and the optional anchovy adds omega-3s (EPA and DHA) and the savory depth a Caesar needs. Pecans, harvested in fall, bring zinc, manganese, vitamin E, and monounsaturated fats. Pomegranate adds punicalagins and vitamin C, Medjool dates bring potassium and copper, and aged Manchego or Parmigiano adds calcium and vitamin K2.
As a circadian food, this salad is lovely at midday or in the early afternoon. The tahini, olive oil, and cheese are more than just flavor: fat greatly improves how much beta-carotene your body absorbs from the squash.
For your cycle: The Brussels sprouts' glucosinolates support estrogen metabolism, which makes this especially supportive in the luteal phase, and the tahini and pecans bring magnesium and zinc.
Sourcing
Butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, apples, pomegranates, garlic, and lemons — organic, from a farmers' market in fall
Pecans — organic and raw, kept in the fridge
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump
Manchego or Parmigiano-Reggiano — Manchego DOP, or Parmigiano-Reggiano DOP aged 24+ months (made from raw milk by law)
Tahini — stone-ground and made from just sesame, like Soom or Seed + Mill
Capers — salt-packed Sicilian capers, rinsed
Dijon mustard — organic, with no preservatives or sugar; Delouis Fils or Maison Orphée
Anchovy paste (optional) — made with just anchovies, olive oil, and salt
Raw honey and maple syrup — organic, local, unfiltered raw honey; organic Grade A dark maple syrup
Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall