Yes, you can savor this salad in winter

By CNN Newsource

Published March 8, 2026 11:00 AM

By Karla Walsh, CNN

(CNN) — Reilly Meehan has never known a life that didn’t revolve around seasonal produce.

Now a private chef whose social media posts are devoured by more than 1 million combined followers on Instagram and TikTok, Meehan grew up in Santa Cruz, California, in a home surrounded by wild blackberry bushes and a backyard peppered with peach trees and vegetable plots.

With all that produce ripe for the picking, “I was frequently out there harvesting and bringing ingredients into the kitchen and whipping things up with it,” Meehan recalled. “I feel like I had a cook’s intuition from very young. Whether or not it was actually edible is a totally different story! But I at least was trying.”

His first clue that the culinary world might offer more than a hobby arose at age 11, when Meehan entered a homemade, lattice-topped peach pie featuring that homegrown fruit in a baking competition at the Santa Cruz County Fair. As Meehan walked away with a big blue ribbon for first prize, he beamed — and planted a seed that he’d water years later.

His culinary career started in earnest at age 15, as a prep cook at his dad’s brewpub, The Seabright Brewery, in Santa Cruz. “I’d help out as a morning prep cook during summer break; chopping ingredients for the salads, prepping all the burgers, anything others might need. We served a lot of diners, so I learned a sense of urgency from a pretty young age,” Meehan said.

All that practice came in handy when high school graduate Meehan entered a cooking competition with a prize that included a scholarship to culinary school. He ranked second and raked in a lot of tuition support, so he enrolled.

After graduating from the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute in 2012, Meehan planted roots as an executive sous chef at a private club in San Francisco, where one of the regulars asked him to be their private chef. Craving a new challenge, Meehan accepted and began documenting his work on social media @chefreillymeehan, which he’s done for five years.

On these platforms, he offers a sneak peek into his work, be it hosting a chic dinner party in the Hamptons or planning a memorable holiday dinner for the family, all while sprinkling in tips about how to organize a refrigerator, how to tame the pungency of raw onions, and of course, how to celebrate seasonal ingredients.

The popularity of these little upgrades and refreshing recipes inspired Meehan’s new book “A Little Bit Extra: 100 Recipes That Serve Up Something Special” (out March 31).

So, what does that “extra” mean, exactly?

“People often ask me how to level up their cooking, and there are countless ways. This could be a small finishing touch, like a little bit of red wine vinegar to finish a soup, or some like lemon zest to brighten up roast chicken,” Meehan told me. “Or it can be like a whole other element, like a wedge of fried avocado to add a textural pop.” Through the recipes in his book and via social media videos, “I’d love for everyone to feel empowered to not be afraid to be a little over-the-top,” he said.

One tempting yet easy example is the jazzed-up yogurt that acts as the base for Meehan’s recipe of Delicata, Pom and Goat Cheese Salad with Cumin Yogurt. When I told Meehan I was dreaming about the fresh produce available when he baked that ribbon-worthy state pie, he pointed me to this recipe, confirming that I need not wait for spring or summer to feast seasonally nor the budget for a private chef to bring it to the table.

“I always associate salads with the warmer months — the crisp lettuce, acidic dressings and seasonal ingredients are the lighter fare we all crave,” Meehan wrote in his introduction to this recipe in the cookbook.

“During the cooler months, I typically just swap out some (or all) of the greenery for hearty roasted veggies for a bulked-up, cozy salad,” he wrote. “It’s studded with caramelized roasted delicata squash, but still has the acidic zing we love about a salad in the form of tangy seasoned yogurt and crumbled goat cheese.”

Ingredients like delicata squash and pomegranate seeds are right on cue in late winter, Meehan said, and it’s easy to elevate and celebrate them in just 30 minutes with this tangy, earthy and spiced-without-being-spicy yogurt, Meehan said. “You get this background warmth that isn’t overpowering. And everyone seems to be looking for more sources of protein these days. This is it! Besides in this salad, try it on a salad or wrap, or serve it as a dip with crudités.”

Just like a simple pinch of sanding sugar on top of a peach pie, this winter salad is proof that “you don’t have to go out of your way to do some big over-the-top touch. The little elements together are special.”

Delicata, Pom and Goat Cheese Salad with Cumin Yogurt

Serves 4 to 6

Prep time: 10 minutes

Bake time: 20 minutes

Total cooking time: 30 minutes

Make-ahead tip: Feel free to roast the squash, slice the onions, remove the seeds from the pomegranate and stir together the spiced yogurt up to a day in advance. Refrigerate the components, then combine them on a platter just before serving.

Squash ingredients

2 large delicata squash, cut into ½-inch-thick rings and seeded
¼ cup (55 grams) olive oil
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon dried sage
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cumin yogurt ingredients

1 cup (245 grams) plain full-fat Greek yogurt
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad ingredients

Seeds from 1 pomegranate (about 1 cup)
4 ounces (113 grams) goat cheese, crumbled
½ cup (60 grams) roasted pepitas
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
Fresh tarragon leaves, for garnish

Instructions

Make the squash: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place the squash rings in a large bowl, then add the olive oil, maple syrup, sage, and salt and pepper to taste and toss until evenly coated. Spread the squash slices in a single layer over the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, until the slices are just tender but not falling apart and have some good caramelization on the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature while you make the dressing.
Make the cumin yogurt: In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, cumin, coriander and salt to taste.
Assemble the salad: Arrange the roasted squash slices on a large platter. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, pepitas and onion, then dollop the yogurt all over. Sprinkle with tarragon and serve immediately.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - Health

Jump to comments ↓