Roast Vegetable Salad with Honey and Balsamic
The dressing for this salad is particularly yummy! I use a mix of vegetables - whatever I have at the time, like kumara, butternut, etc. but I keep the potato dominant. I also usually add in an onion and some halved garlic cloves. Its very versatile.
The dressing for this salad is particularly yummy! I use a mix of vegetables - whatever I have at the time, like kumara, butternut, etc. but I keep the potato dominant. I also usually add in an onion and some halved garlic cloves. Its very versatile.
- Carbohydrate 76.5561350138696 g
- Cholesterol 17.8 mg
- Fat 26.4147500010855 g
- Fiber 20.0461875361055 g
- Protein 22.7502362501195 g
- Saturated Fat 5.03596500014989 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (641g)
- Sodium 495.423018233438 mg
- Sugar 56.509947477764 g
- Trans Fat 3.7295462500294 g
- Calories 582 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 230°C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Cut vegetables into 2cm pieces and place a bowl. Pour in the oil and stir to distribute well then place in a single layer on the tray. Season with salt and pepper.
- Roast vegetables, turning once, for ~20 minutes or until golden and tender. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat. Add pine nuts and cook stirring for about 3 minutes or until golden. (Take care not to burn them)
- Combine honey, vinegar and oil in a screw top jar. Secure lid and shake to combine. Remove lid. Microwave on high for 10 seconds or until honey is melted. Replace lid and shake until well combined.
- Place vegetables over spinach in a large bowl (or on two smaller serving platters). Sprinkle with pine nuts and crumbled feta. Drizzle with dressing and serve.
Most home cooks crowd the roasting tray and steam the roots instead of browning them. Achieving proper caramelization on dense roots requires cutting pieces to a uniform two-centimeter thickness and maintaining space between them on the baking paper. High heat at 230 degrees Celsius drives off surface moisture quickly, creating the necessary contrast against tender interiors.
Dressing Chemistry and Make-Ahead Limits
Combining honey, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil in a screw-top jar allows the ingredients to emulsify efficiently after a brief ten-second microwave heating phase. However, constructing this dish ahead of time introduces structural failure. Raw baby spinach wilts rapidly under the weight of warm roots and acidic dressing. Roasting the vegetables and toasting the pine nuts up to three minutes in a dry pan can happen hours in advance, but final assembly must occur immediately before service.
- Store roasted roots and dressing separately in sealed containers for up to two days in the refrigerator.
- Bring chilled vegetables back to ambient temperature before combining them with fresh greens.
- Substitute walnuts or pumpkin seeds at a one-to-one ratio if pine nuts are unavailable.
