I don’t have a name for this salad. So it’s up for grabs! What do you think it should be named? It’s full of both raw and roasted vegetables, lettuces, herb and even a few spices. There were zucchini in the fridge that needed to be used, 1/2 of a cauliflower, a little broccoli and a few handfulls of lettuces. So I just threw this together. And after I did that, sat down and ate, cleaned up, and wrote up the recipe – I thought wowza! It may not be quite so easy for some…there are 3 steps afterall. However, before you start the recipes, know that each step isn’t too difficult and maybe something you have done or tried already. If not that’s ok! Both the roasted vegetable and raw vegetable recipes could stand on their own – you don’t have to mix them. Meaning you could make one of the other with the simple vinaigrette.
For the Roasted Vegetables:
1 large idaho potato, peeled & diced into 1/2″ pieces
3 C of cauliflower florettes, 1″ to 1 1/2″
3 C of broccoli florettes, 1″ to 1 1/2″
2-3 Tblsp of extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 tsp of salt
1/2 to 1 tsp of fresh ground pepper
Preheat oven 375°
Cover a 1/2 sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower on the pan. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the vegetables. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over vegetables. Mix vegetables with your hand (clean – of course) until the vegetables are well coated with oil and seasoning. Spread the vegetables across the sheet pan so that they end up in one layer. If you have veg overflow – don’t worry. Just prepare another pan with parchment and put the remaining vegetables on it. Place sheet pan with vegetables into the pre-heated oven. Roast vegetables until they begin to have a touch of brown and are soft all the way through. This should take up to 20 minutes. Check at 10 minute intervals. Once vegetables are done. Take out of oven and set aside to cool.
**Note: Parchment paper is an option – it’s not necessary. It just keeps the pan from burning or getting too dirty.
For the Raw Vegetables:
4 medium zucchinni, peeled
1 red bell pepper, seeded and julienned
1 handfull of baby spinach leaves
1 handfull of baby arugula leaves
1/2 C of fresh flat leaf parsley
Set a large bowl in front of you. With a vegetable peeler, take one zucchini and begin peeling the it into strips. You will peel the flesh of the zucchini just as you peeled its skin off: one long peel by sliding the peeler down the length of the zucchini, turning the zucchini slightly, sliding the peeler down the length of the zucchini again. This process will be repeated with each zucchini until you reach the inner seeds. Set the remaining zucchini aside. (See technique for roasting above – slice the leftover zucchini). Now you have a bowl full of zucchini strips.
Add the red bell, spinach, arugula, parsley and roasted vegetables to the bowl with the zucchini strips. Set aside for just a moment while you make your vinaigrette.
For the Vinaigrette:
1/2 C Olive Oil
1/8 C of white or Champagne vinegar
1/2 tsp of lightly crushed fennel seed, optional
1/4 tsp of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp of fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp of fresh ground pepper
In a small glass or plastic container w/ a lid, add all of the above ingredients. Place the lid on the container and make sure it is secured. Over the kitchen sink, shake the container vigorously until the oil and vinegar have emulsified (when the oil and vinegar combine). It should have a creamy texture and be golden in color.
Lightly drizzle 1/2 the vinaigrette over the raw/roasted vegetables, lettuces and herb. Mix all the ingredients so that they combine and that the vinaigrette has incorporated itself into the vegetables. Taste. Add more vinaigrette over salad if needed.
Serve immediately. Serves up to 6 people.
Can be served with fish, chicken, and/or steak. I especially like it with grilled proteins. Enjoy!
