Warm Roast Veggie Salad with Cheese

Remember those roasted vegetables? Just thinking of them makes me wish I was there right now.

Well, with this warm roasted veggie salad recipe you can bring those memories directly to your taste buds without having to worry about all the relatives and trimmings. I have added a few extra veggies for color and texture, but it works fine with less as well.

This is probably slightly different from your grandmother’s recipe, but it is equally tasty and slightly healthier.

Ingredients

• 1 kilogram butternut squash
• 3 medium pontiac potatoes
• 2 parsnips
• 2 medium zucchini
• 6 baby yellow squash
• 2 red peppers (capsicum)
• 1 onion
• 6 French shallots
• 8 cloves garlic
• 6 sprigs rosemary
• 300 grams rocket leaves
• 150 grams feta cheese (or marinated Persian fetta or ricotta)
• extra virgin olive oil
• balsamic vinegar (aged balsamic preferred)
• sea salt flakes
• freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 200 C (390 F).
• Cut the butternut squash in half and remove the seeds and soft flesh (the skin can be left on or off the squash).
• Cut the pumpkin, parsnip, potato, and onion into 2 cm (1 inch) cubes.
• Peel the garlic cloves and leave whole.
• Peel the shallots and cut in half top to bottom.
• Cut the zucchini, squash, peppers (no seeds) into a similar size as the pumpkin etc.
• Strip the sprigs of rosemary and finely chop the leaves.
• Cover the base of a large baking tray or two smaller trays with olive oil and place in the oven for 3-5 minutes, (for that home baked country taste you can use dripping or shortening).
• Add the pumpkin, potatoes, parsnip, onion, shallots, garlic, and rosemary to the oil, gently toss with a steel spatula, and return to the oven for approx 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, add the remaining vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and toss once again to ensure everything is coated in oil. Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.
• Remove the tray from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes.
• Toss most of the warm vegetables with the rocket lettuce, some seasoning, a little oil from the pan, and a touch of balsamic vinegar (not too much vinegar though as it will kill that freshly roasted flavor).
• Divide the salad evenly among 4 plates and top with the remaining roast vegetables and some crumbled fetta cheese.
• Sit your guests down and eat ASAP as this is a dish best served fresh. The left-over vegetables are great in a cold salad or pasta or puréed in a soup.

Notes

Related: Slow Cooked Leeks Salad with Crushed Peas, Feta & Mint Related: Avocado and Crab Stack Salad

Related: 31 Fresh Summer Mediterranean Salad Recipes Related: Caprese Salad