SOMETHING SIMPLE: Roasted Squash Salad With Farro and Mustard Greens

I love greens in every season: sturdy collards and Swiss chard in the winter, peppery arugula and watercress in the spring, raw mesclun by the pound through the sweltering summer heat. And if I’m eating a salad in the fall — and I usually am — you can bet it’s made with mustard greens.

One of the most underrated brassicas (a close relative of more popular picks like cabbage, broccoli, and kale), mustard greens are spicy and punchy, with a sinus-clearing effect not unlike wasabi or horseradish. Because they bring so much flavor to the table, they lend themselves well to a salad like this one, with a simple dressing of olive oil and lemon juice to balance their heat without competing with it.

If your mustard greens are smaller and younger, they’ll be more delicate and milder in flavor, but they’ll still work well for this recipe; just handle them gently during the massaging step. You can also use another leafy green, like kale or Swiss chard, and add a dab of Dijon along with the olive oil and salt to dress the greens.

I like using delicata squash for this salad because its thin, tender skin is edible when cooked, so I leave it on to save prep time and add a little extra fiber. You can peel your delicata if you prefer, or swap in a different ­winter squash, like butternut or kabocha. They all roast up beautifully and give the salad a touch of sweetness, along with heart-healthy potassium and vitamin C.

Winter squash is also rich in carotenoids, plant pigments that give the flesh its yellow and orange colors. Your body converts several of these carotenoids — compounds like beta-carotene and alpha-carotene — into vitamin A to support your immune system and vision, as well as cell growth and development. Carotenoids also act as antioxidants and are fat-soluble, so eating the squash with a healthy fat (like the olive oil in this recipe) can improve your body’s ability to absorb these vital nutrients.

Cooked farro adds a bit of protein and fiber to this dish. It also acts as a kind of anchoring hearty element — something any good salad needs if I’m going to crave it in the colder months. Farro’s nutty flavor and chewy texture make it my top pick for any grains-and-greens situation, but do be aware that it’s not gluten-free. If anyone at your table is avoiding gluten, try wild rice or quinoa instead.

This salad includes a modest amount of protein from a few different sources: the farro, walnuts, and feta cheese. If you’re looking for more, add a can of chickpeas to the pan for the last roasting step, or serve the salad with poached eggs or some cooked chicken or fish.

Like a lot of produce, mustard greens are available year-round — but they’re at their most flavorful and nutritious during their peak season.

Here in Minnesota, that window is mid-to-late fall, which is also when the ­local rabbit population starts treating my modest backyard garden like an all-you-can-eat salad bar. They eat my cabbages and cauliflower, gnaw the tops from my carrots and radishes, and chew through the leaves of every last herb I dare to raise — but they leave my mustard greens alone. They’re too spicy for bunny palates, but to me, that sharp, pungent flavor just tastes like fall.