Roasted Vegetable Harvest Salad

I am pretty sure I ate this every day last week for lunch.  This salad is not only delicious, but is also healthy and filling, a winning combination in my book.  Roasted autumn vegetables give this salad some heartiness and make it filling enough to have as your meal.  The roasted kale has a savory, earthy flavor and the pomegranate seeds and feta are light and complement the flavors of the root vegetables.  Mmmmmm Mmmmmm Mmmmmm.

I could see this making a wonderful side dish, but is also nice to make at the beginning of the week and eat little by little for lunch.  What I put in this salad was inspired by a few different recipes, but primarily from this Crispy Kale Salad recipe from How Sweet Eats.  I am pretty sure I stumbled across this on www.foodgawker.com which is a wonderful website for anyone that loves eating, making, or just thinking about food.  The sister sites to foodgawker about homes and crafting are also fun to check out!!

The kale from this recipe cooked down significantly which is why I added the spinach to make it last longer.  You could make this without the kale, but it adds a delicious and unique flavor.  The beets were also a nice addition in my opinion.  If you aren't into beets, or how they dye everything purple, they can be omitted, BUT if you omit the beets and still want the heartiness of the salad I would recommend adding some grilled chicken or another vegetable such as roasted asparagus or roasted butternut squash.


Anyway, please give it a try and let me know what you think!!  Happy Fall Feasting!!

Roasted Vegetable Autumn Salad
Serving size - about 6 dinner plates

Ingredients 

• 2 Sweet potatoes, peeled and diced 
• 3 Small beets, peeled and diced
• 2 T Olive Oil + 2 t Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Head kale, thick stems removed and ripped into medium-large pieces
• 2 T Apple cider (apple juice would work too and you may use more than 2 t if you want)
• 2 t Lemon juice
• 1/4 t Nutmeg
• 1 Bag spinach (I used about half a large bag, but fresh spinach would be ideal)
• 1/2 Pomegranate, seeded
• Crumbled Feta, use as much as you want
• Sunflower Seeds, use as much as you want and toast if you please
  

 Directions
For the Roasted Vegetables:

1.  While you peel and dice the roasted vegetables, preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Spread prepared root vegetables on a rimmed cookie sheet
3. Drizzle with 2 T olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste
4. Mix around with a spatula and place in the preheated oven
5. Roast for about 45 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown
6. Allow time to cool and set aside

**Note - I recommend roasting the vegetables well in advance, even the day before, so they have plenty of time to cool.  It is fine if you serve them warm with the salad, but cold is also good too!

For the Kale:

1. Preheat, or lower heat on oven, to 350 degrees
2. Once kale is washed, removed from the stem and torn into pieces, place kale into a large bowl
3. Drizzle prepared kale with olive oil, apple cider, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and nutmeg
4. Massage the oil and spices into the kale for 1-2 minutes
5. Taste one leaf and adjust the dressing as needed (I ended up adding some more apple cider and lemon juice)
6. Spread kale on a cookie sheet (I would use the same one you used for the roasted vegetables to save time cleaning up)
7. Place kale in preheated oven and bake for 5-10 minutes or until kale softens and tips begin to crisp
8. Remove from oven and set aside to cool

All Together Now:

1. When vegetables and kale is prepared, throw the rest of the salad together!
2. In a salad bowl combine spinach, prepared kale, prepared roasted vegetables, pomegranate seeds, sunflower seeds, and feta
3. Serve with a light balsamic or similar vinaigrette if the kale does not provide enough dressing/flavor
4. Enjoy!

The nice thing about this is you can swap all sorts of roasted vegetables for those that I suggested and you can add other autumn fruits such as pears and apples.  Goat cheese would be a good substitute for feta and walnuts or pine nuts would work in the place of sunflower seeds.  The options are endless, so make it your own!

Bon Appetit!