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Last week, I went out to lunch with two of my bosses, and they let me pick where to eat.  I am horrible at making decisions, especially when it comes to food (what to cook, where to eat, what to eat, etc).  However, when my boss told me that we were eating downtown, I did not have to think twice about where I wanted to have my lunch that day.

I picked a little restaurant called Cafe Patachou.  There are a few of these little restaurants around the Indianapolis area, but I do not think that you will find one anywhere else, as it is local to my home city.  Each restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere, friendly wait staff, and delicious eats.

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Patachou has award winning omelettes, delicious soups of the day, thick and soft cinnamon toast, wonderful sandwiches, a case of pastries that will make you drool, and my favorite…tasty and fresh salads.

As I mentioned above, I often find it hard to make a decision when it comes to food, but as soon as I saw the Winter Ensalada Fresca chopped romaine, roasted butternut squash, red onion, cucumber, garbanzo beans, and feta cheese with a buttermilk herb dressing I was SOLD!

This salad was so delicious, that I immediately wanted to recreate it in my own kitchen, and I didn’t even think that it needed the dressing.  That is just how flavorful those fresh veggies were.


Winter Squash Salad

Yields: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 handfuls of raw spinach
  • 1 cup of chopped romaine
  • 1 small butternut squash, cubed and roasted
  • 1/4 cup chickpeas
  • 1/4 cup black beans
  • 1/4 cup red onion
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp Italian seasonings

Directions:

Begin by roasting your butternut squash with your preferred method.  I roast mine the way that I roast all of my veggies:  400 degrees on a greased pan sprinkled with a little garlic salt for 20 minutes.

Once the squash is roasted and cooled, combine the spinach, romaine, black beans, chickpeas, onions, squash, and cheese in a large bowl.  Top with the garlic salt and Italian seasoning, and toss until combined.

I did not put any dressing on mine, because again it is so flavorful on it’s own with the fresh veggies and the spices, but I think that a vinegar and oil dressing, an Italian dressing, or even a ranch dressing would taste delicious on this salad!

Enjoy!!

Have you ever had something so good while at a restaurant that you had to remake it?  What was this dish?

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  1. […] I enjoyed one of my favorite salads of all time:  Winter Ensalada Fresca.  This salad is a bed of romaine topped with chickpeas, black beans, red onion, roasted butternut squash, cucumber, and feta.  (I actually recreated this salad at home. Recipe here!) […]

  2. I work right across the street from Cafe Patachou. You should try their tomato soup. Best I’ve ever had!

    • Good to know! As much as I love tomato soup, I have never tried the soup at Patachou. I MUST give it a try 🙂

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