Autumn is here, the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping. This is the perfect time for fall vegetables to make their entry into your kitchen. This salad is a happy mood-boosting dish, it’s fresh, flavourful and ready in twenty minutes. And, fun fact: this delicious winter vegetable can actually improve your mood! Butternut squash contains tryptophane, a substance that helps your body with the production of the hormone serotonin. And serotonin just happens to regulate your mood naturally, causing you to feel happier, calmer and more focused! 

Butternut squash salad with curly kale  

Recipe for 4 people

Preparation time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 butternut squash, sliced  
• 60 gr curly kale  
• 240 g mushrooms  
• 30 g walnuts  
• 30 ml olive oil  
• 1 sprig of thyme  
• 8 ml lemon juice  
• Pinch of salt  
• Pinch of Pepper 

PREPARATION

• Divide the olive oil over the sliced butternut squash and grill the slices on both sides until they have a nice brown edge. Drain the excess oil and set aside for later.   
• Clean the mushrooms, slice and grill  
• Sprinkle the butternut squash with thyme, sea salt and pepper. Put in the oven at 175C for about 10 minutes. Leave it all until it is lukewarm.  
• Place 5 slices of butternut squash on each plate.  
• Mix the olive oil, left over from the baked butternuts squash, with the lemon juice, sea salt and pepper.   
• Mix the dressing with the curly kale and divide it over the butternut squash then sprinkle the mushrooms and walnuts over the salad.  

Bon appetit!