Easy Winter Citrus Salad with Tahini

This is an easy, colorful salad with kale, ginger miso tempeh, orange, squash, cucumber, and tahini topped with crunchy buckwheat I put together for lunch today that is full of cozy and bright flavors perfect for winter! It has many vitamins and nutrients from the veggies, as well as protein and healthy fats from the tempeh and tahini.

I had made the tempeh and butternut squash ahead of time to be used in salads and other meals, so it took less than 5 minutes to assemble and used ingredients that I already had on hand.

If you don’t have sprouted buckwheat, you can substitute seeds, nuts, or a toasted grain like quinoa for some crunch! I got the buckwheat from a local Chicago company Lil Bucks, and they have lots of fun flavors - this is the plain one, so it goes well with savory dishes.

I cooked a whole package of tempeh and butternut squash, so feel free to do that and use the rest in other recipes! The amount listed below is just the approximate amount to use in this salad - you can adjust the amount of oil to be enough to coat all the pieces, and add as much seasoning as you wish.

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Here’s how to make this salad:

Ingredients:

(measurements are approximate, no need to be exact)

1 cup baby kale, washed

1 serving of tempeh, cut into strips

Sesame oil (about 2 tbsp) (can substitute olive oil)

1 tsp miso paste (optional)

Dash of salt, pepper, ginger

1 orange, chopped

¼ cup butternut squash, peeled and cut into one-inch cubes

½ cucumber, sliced (or 1 mini cucumber)

Handful of shredded carrots (I used pickled ginger carrots)

For topping:

Tahini (probably about 2 tbsp)

Handful of Lil Bucks sprouted buckwheat crunch (can substitute with seeds or toasted quinoa, etc)

Steps:

1. Cut tempeh into strips about an inch long and toss with sesame oil, ginger, miso (optional), salt, and pepper. Spread the tempeh on a baking sheet.

2. Toss butternut squash cubes with olive oil or sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a separate baking sheet.

3. Cook both the tempeh and squash at 375 F for 15-25 minutes (the squash will likely take a bit longer than the tempeh - if the tempeh is done, you can keep cooking the squash and increase the temperature to 400 F). Cook until the edges of the tempeh are golden brown and start to be crispy, and until the squash is soft throughout and the edges start to get browned.

4. Once the tempeh and squash have cooled slightly, toss with the remaining salad ingredients.

5. Drizzle tahini on top, then sprinkle the buckwheat on top, and enjoy!