Winter Roasted Vegetable Salad

It’s the early days still of August in the scorching Southwest, and though I burrow up and hide in my deliciously air-conditioned house, I know that for the most part, you can fry an egg out on the pavement. You could literally watch the steam rising from the egg as it sizzles on the black tar. When it’s this scorching out in the concrete jungle, with humidity as a sneaky little chaser thanks to Monsoon Season, I studiously try to avoid heating up my kitchen for long periods of time. The very last thing that appeals to me are lavish, succulent dishes. Summertime calls for celebrating the beauty and delicate nuances that only summer vegetables and fruits bring to the tastebuds.

The humid summer months yield scads of cold dishes to the table, like French Inspired Potato Salads or a simple charcuterie board with creamy cheese, fruit, and pickled vegetables with some prosciutto for the husband. I’ve always adored berries and a tart vinaigrette in salads, perhaps mixed with an egg or chickpeas and feta. But sometimes, a whiff of nostalgia for vegetables most typically eaten in the winter months call to me, like brussel sprouts and butternut squash and cauliflower. The conundrum is how to incorporate these vegetables into summertime dishes without 1. Loading them up with a cheese sauce or bacon like so many winter recipes, 2. How to incorporate them into a light meal that won’t make you feel lethargic after, and 3. How to get away with not having to grill these vegetables in 115 degree weather that has a high chance of a sudden downpour.

Winter Roasted Vegetable Salad with Fork, so close you can almost taste it

The answer materializes in the form of a delectable salad. There is a regional restaurant that serves a salad that incorporates some of these winter vegetables that I had forgotten about until I had it again the other day. It inspired me to recreate it at home with some of my own preferences.This is no ordinary salad where you just chop up fresh ingredients and call it a day, though there is absolutely nothing wrong about that!

Winter Roasted Vegetable Salad bathing in the sunlight.

Like many salads, you start with a bed of mixed greens. I do not recommend something along the lines of Romaine lettuce or Iceberg lettuce, as the crunch and crispness of these varieties will compete with the roasted vegetables. For the roasted vegetables I used butternut squash, cauliflower, broccoli, red pepper, onion, and Brussel sprouts. With this mix of vegetables, you end up with such a varied and intricate palate of textures and flavors. Crisped edges of the broccoli crunch against your teeth, while the cauliflower has a sturdy texture that almost crumbles in your mouth as you eat. These two vegetables are fabulous contrasts to the silky smooth texture of the butternut squash that your teeth sink into. You toss this with a homemade lemon and roasted garlic vinaigrette and top with some roasted chicken, dried cherries, and feta cheese. Then you have a symphony of sensations that are sweetly tart and distinctly different with each bite you take.

The longest part of assemblingthis salad is your preparation of the vegetables for roasting. The brilliant thing about this salad is that you can roast all the vegetables at one time, on two large baking sheets and two half size baking sheets. To help with cleanup, I also lined the baking sheets with heavy duty aluminum foil. The roasted vegetables and the vinaigrette will keep up to a week in the fridge, so this is an ingenious salad to construct ahead of time for lunches. I store all the roasted vegetables in separate containers so I can pick and choose how much of each ingredient I want so in the end, the salad is always evolving and exciting.

Winter Roasted Vegetable Salad with Fork

Winter Roasted Vegetable Salad with Chicken, Dried Cherries, and Feta

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Serves: 4-6

This method of preparation is a fabulous way to incorporate more hearty vegetables into your summer seasonal salads to introduce more variety of textures rather than just having a fresh vegetable in your salad. Roasting vegetables encourages the natural sugars to come forward, and I’ve found many people who are not crazy about vegetables prepared in other methods actually like the taste of vegetables that have been roasted due to texture and the natural sweetness.

I roasted the garlic cloves at the same time as the other vegetables. To thoroughly incorporate it into the vinaigrette, I used a little mini blender I have that is traditionally used for smoothies. This is a really great way to really emulsify the vinaigrette and make sure the garlic cloves are fully incorporated without having you bite into a huge chunk.

You can use the same large mixing bowl to toss each vegetable with olive oil, salt and pepper. As you prepare each vegetable, you will need less and less added oil to the bowl. The goal is to just barely coat the vegetables to help prevent them from sticking to the pans, to help caramelize the edges of the vegetables, and to add some depth to the vegetables as they are seasoned so simply.

Lastly, I think this would also be delicious with goat cheese to change it up from the feta cheese. I forgot to add the Feta for the photos, but it was definitely not forgotten when I had the salad for dinner!!

Ingredients:

Roasted Vegetables:

1 Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed into about 1 inch pieces
1 pound Brussel Sprouts, trimmed and halved
1 head Cauliflower, cored and broken into florets
2 small bunches Broccoli, broken into florets
1 Red Pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
5-6 cloves peeled Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Freshly cracked Black Pepper

Lemon and Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette:

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5-6 cloves Roasted Garlic, from above
Juice of 2 Lemons, roughly 4 Tbsp
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar, more or less to taste
1 1/2 Tsp Whole Grain Spicy Brown Mustard
1/2 Tsp SeaSalt, more or less to taste
1/4 Tsp Fresh cracked Black Pepper, more to taste

For Salad Assembly:

Mixed Greens
Roasted Chicken
Dried Cherries
Crumbled Feta

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F, Convection setting if you have it. This helps crisp up the edges of the vegetables while roasting.
Prepare your baking sheets by lining all of them with heavy duty aluminum foil, dull side facing up. I used 2 full sized baking sheets and 2 half sized baking sheets.
To prepare the Butternut Squash, I chop the ends of the squash off first, then halve it lengthwise. This allows you to scoop out the squash guts easily with a spoon. Then you can carefully peel the squash, positioned upright, with a knife, slicing the tough skin off from top to bottom. Then slice the peeled squash into 1 inch pieces. Toss pieces in a big bowl with a little olive oil, maybe 1 Tsp, and salt and pepper then evenly spread squash on large prepared baking sheet.
Core the Cauliflower by cutting the head down the middle, then cutting out the tough stem in a triangle wedge in both halves. Then you can either chop or break the Cauliflower into equal size florets. Toss Cauliflower with olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread on one half of the other large prepared baking sheet.
Cut the thick stems off the Broccoli and chop or break into equal size florets. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread broccoli florets evenly on the other half of the large prepared baking sheet.
Trim the ends off the Brussel Sprouts, then cut in half. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper then arrange on a half side baking sheet, cut sides facing up.
Core and de-seed the Red Bell Pepper, then toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on half the last half size prepared baking sheet.
Peel and chop the onion, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread on the other half of the last baking sheet next to the Red Bell Pepper.
Peel 5 or 6 cloves of fresh Garlic and place on the sheet with the peppers and onions in the corner together.
Place all 4 baking pans in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. You should turn the vegetables once halfway through baking.
At the 25 minute mark, take out the sheet with the Broccoli and Cauliflower. Place the Broccoli only in storage container and place the Cauliflower back in the oven for 5 minutes.
At the 30 minute mark, remove the trays containing the Butternut Squash, Brussel Sprouts, and Cauliflower. Place each respective vegetable into their own storage containers.
At the 35 minute mark, remove the last baking sheet containing the Red Pepper, Onion, and Garlic Cloves. Pace the Red Pepper and Onion in their own containers. Turn oven off!!!

Vinaigrette Directions:

In a mini Blender, place the now Roasted Garlic Cloves.
Add the Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Mustard. Blend.
Taste, then add Salt and Pepper in 1/4 Tsp increments until you reach the balance of flavors most pleasing to you.

To Serve:

Place Mixed Greens, desired amounts of each roasted vegetable on top, and then add Chicken, Dried Cherries, Feta, and the Vinaigrette on top. Enjoy with a nice bright Sauvignon Blanc and a crusty Baugette