I’m usually known as the queen of entertaining. (Mind you, that is not a self dubbed title but one others have bestowed upon me.) That said, I’ve been out of practice. The pandemic, and other life situations (all good ones) have thrown a monkey wrench into our usual hosting schedule. And so, coming up with new recipes has been put on the back burner. However, a couple weekends ago we took the leap and hosted our friends/family for a small backyard lunch.

JuanCarlos had his mind set on making a paella ‘a la parilla’, which means on the grill, thus forcing us to be outside. We lucked out in the middle of NY October with glorious, sunny, warm weather. JuanCarlos has been making paellas for years but continues to research and study master paella makers in order to perfect his. Each one gets better and better. He loves making outdoor fires, and then hanging out with good friends to enjoy a glass of wine or two while he cooks.

With paella in the driver’s seat, the appetizers were riding shotgun and followed along in Spanish Tapas style. I made Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, Boquerones Skewers, Charcuterie/Cheese Board, Radishes with Salted Butter

But when it came to the salad, I veered off the Iberian road, and glad I did. It’s Fall and I felt like leaning into that season using roasted butternut squash. I make roasted spiced butternut squash slabs as side dish for my customers and decided to use similar spices but cut the squash into cubes and added a touch of maple syrup. In composing the salad in my head, I thought about all the other Fall inspired accompaniments that would not only pair well with the squash but would also provide a visual wow. So, a pop of dark red from dried cranberries, a toasty brown from pecans, a lovely green from pepitas, and slivers of red onion would all do the trick nicely. These don’t just deliver on the visual impact, each one also provides a different textual element that is key to making a salad, or any dish, interesting on the palate. Arugula was still fresh at the farmer’s market so I grabbed that for a hint of peppery punch that would counter balance the sweetness. For the dressing I borrowed the idea of using dates from another recipe, but of course changed it up a bit.

Can I just say how much I love this salad. It’s crisp. It’s earthy. It’s sweet. It’s peppery. It’s damn good, and I’m damn glad I made a ton so I could have leftovers for the next day.

I’m posting this now because I think it would make a wonderful salad for Thanksgiving. It hits all the marks and is the perfect counterpoint to the heaviness of a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Please give it try either as a green salad or swap out the lettuce with quinoa as the base. It could also work with pearl couscous as well.

Ingredients

2 Bibb/Boston lettuce
1 Arugula, bunch
1 medium Butternut Squash, approx 4 c cubed
1 c Dried Cranberries
1 c Pecans, toasted
1 c Pepitas, toasted
1/2 c Red Onion, thinly sliced
1/8 t Cayenne
1/8 t Cumin
1/8 t Cinnamon
2 T Maple Syrup
2 T oil

Dressing
4-5 Dates
3 T Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 t Honey (optional)
1 Garlic clove, crushed
lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
3 T water
salt, pepper to taste

Date Dressing Setup: Dates, lemon, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper

Instructions

Peel and cube the butternut squash. Place on a roasting pan and season with oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin and cinnamon.

2. Roast at 425 degrees until golden on one side. Then flip them and add the maple syrup and roast until golden on the other side. Remove from oven and let cool.

Roast until squash is tender and edges are browned.

3. Meanwhile, wash the Bibb lettuce and Arugula and dry them well.

4. Roast the pecans and pepitas slightly to enhance their nutty flavors. This can be done in 300 degree oven or on the stove. Just make sure to keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly.

5. Make the dressing by first rough chopping the dates, crushing the garlic and adding to a mini food processor along with lemon zest, salt and pepper. Blend until the dates are a small crumb.

6. Then add vinegar, oil, and lemon juice and blend until emulsified. Then drizzle in a bit of honey and blend again. Add water to thin out.

Place chopped dates, crushed garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper into a mini food processor.

Once you add the oil and vinegar the dates will break down even more to create a creamy consistency.

7. Assemble the salad by placing the lettuces on a big platter and then sprinkle the sliced red onions, butternut squash, pecans, dried cranberries and pepitas all over the top of the lettuces.

I sometimes hold off on dressing an entire platter of salad in case there are leftovers I don’t want the remaining salad to get soggy. So, I let the guests add the amount of dressing they want to their plate. Do what feels right or works for you. But always serve it up with love.

Bibb, arugula salad with roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries, pecans, pepitas & date dressing

Serving it up with dressing on the side, and with plenty of love

I loved it so much that I expanded the idea to use it with quinoa for a customer side dish. Which by the way was such a hit, they texted me to say it was another winner. I just love getting those texts messages.

Quinoa with all the same ingredients as the salad… minus the lettuce.

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Yes, these vibrant and delicious wonders make the perfect appetizer. They are red pockets of yum. But fair warning, these are not entirely my recipe. The Spanish are famous for stuffing piquillo peppers, and goat cheese is one of the most popular fillings. I made some alterations to the stuffing to create my own version plus added a little dressing to coat them.

What is a Piquillo you ask? And that would be a good question because it looks just like a regular red pepper, and it is. But these are a variety of chili peppers in the capsicum annuum family. Although, this chili pepper is sweet and doesn't harbor any heat, much akin to a traditional red bell pepper. They are grown in Northern Spain near the town of Lodosa, and have a real reason for being called piquillo. Simple answer. In Spanish it means "little beak" which is exactly what these look like due to their small size, making them ideal for stuffing. If you used a traditional red bell pepper and stuffed it with goat cheese it would be quite the grotesque amount of filling. Unless you are a cheese monster in which case you would be in goat heaven.

(I use the Dantza brand whole piquillo peppers from Despaña. The round can shown below was specifically designed by request of Despaña. All of the peppers are selected for their size and packed by hand to ensure all peppers remain whole, as that is the key for a stuffing pepper. Some piquillos come in strips for other uses. )

Speaking of stuffing, because of their sweet and supple flavor they are compatible with so many stuffing options. You can create a stuffing out of anything you like really, but I like cheese. Whenever I have had a goat cheese stuffed piquillo in a restaurant I have found the straight up goat cheese to be a bit dense and just one flavor note. That is why I decided to create my own version combining goat cheese with whipped cream cheese, parsley and some lemon zest. I also went another step and added a little dressing to pour over top. I think it adds to the overall freshness of the dish as the acidity combines well with the peppers. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have some dressing to soak up with the piece of bread you serve alongside these. Your guests can also place an entire pepper on the bread which aids in delivering this tasty bite directly into the mouth. Which I highly recommend.

These aren't hard to make, just a few ingredients. They can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to dress and serve. The only slightly slippery part of assembling these is filling them.

Goat cheese, whipped cream cheese, parsley, lemon, shallot, and of course, the star, piquillo peppers. I buy mine from Despaña.

ingredients

yields approx. 25 peppers

16.6 oz can whole piquillo peppers
10.5 oz goat cheese log
8 oz. whipped cream cheese
1 heaping tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper

Dressing
1/3 c Oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 full tbsp shallots, minced
splash of lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
Basil to garnish, optional

The mixture: goat cheese, whipped cream cheese, chopped parsley and lemon zest, salt.

To aid in the filling, I use a piping bag. I use piping bags for a lot of things. It just makes it easier, especially for this recipe since the filling is too dense to spoon in. Plus if you use a decorative tip, you can create a lovely little flourish at the top of the pepper. Isn't that special. Sometimes it's the little things that mark the difference, and it doesn't take any more effort than if you didn't use a decorative tip.

The easiest way to stuffing anything... a piping bag!!

instructions

When using these or any roasted peppers often times there are seeds. Try to remove as many as possible being as careful as possible since the peppers are delicate.
Using a hand mixer, whip the goat cheese, cream cheese together, then add the parsley and lemon zest. You can also add shallots to this mixture, as I have done in the past.
Fill the piping with the cheese mixture and using a wide tip, begin filling each pepper.
Place them on a decorative serving platter. If serving immediately, then drizzle the dressing over top. If you are making them ahead of time, cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Then dress them before serving. These should be served at room temperature so remove them from the fridge 1/2 hour prior.

You can also stuff these with cod, or a mixture of tuna and piquillo blended together to create a mousse. Those are a few traditional ones to get you going. I leave it up to you and your imagination to create some more. Whatever you choose, cheese, cod, tuna, spinach, etc these make the most vibrant and tasty appetizer platter that works all year long. There are a thousand ways to use these peppers, many of which don't require stuffing them at all. I will have more recipes in the future with these delicious tiny red babies, so keep on the look out.

I recently served a bountiful platter alongside my homemade flatbreads at an outdoor dinner party. In the end, not a one was left.. of either.

Post note: In the set up picture you may notice that I included endive. That is because you can also use fill the endive leaves with the goat cheese mixture and then lay a piquillo pepper on top. In the coming weeks, I will be posting Endless Endive, which showcases several ways to serve them.

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