This is my concession to salad
this winter. I struggle with eating salads
at this time of year. My body tells me
it wants soups and stews, comfort food. Salad
is not in vogue around here come January.
This is probably why I shy away from New Year resolutions involving
cleansing and dieting. It stands to
reason that when it’s cold out your body craves warmth. This salad bridges the void between a plate
of lettuce leaves and the comfort food I crave.
The combination of my favourite winter vegetables with toasted almonds
for crunch, goat cheese or feta for tangy flavour and dried cherries for a hint
of sweetness is perfect. It’s bright and
colourful too which doesn’t hurt when the sky is grey.
Inspired by Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl.
You can use any combination of
winter vegetables you like. I think
beetroot would be superb in this but I didn’t have any at the time!
Serves 2 (amounts are
approximate depending on the size of your vegetables)
½ celeriac head peeled and
chopped in to chunks.
2 parsnips peeled and cut in
to batons.
2 carrots peeled and cut in to
batons.
1 shallot cut in to wedges.
1 tsp dried rosemary
(optional).
Handful of flaked almonds,
toasted.
Feta or hard goat cheese,
crumbled.
Salad leaves (I used a mixture
of lambs lettuce, baby chard and spinach).
Dried cherries (or other dried
fruit)
Dressing:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp lemon juice
Preheat the oven to gas mark
6, 200°C, 400°F.
Peel and chop your
vegetables. Place them in a roasting
tin, sprinkle with dried rosemary if using and douse with olive oil. Roast for 30 – 40 minutes turning
occasionally until golden. About five
minutes before the vegetables are done add the flaked almonds to the roasting
tin to toast. Then with a minute or so left add the dried cherries so they
plump up a bit. I often chuck them in and
turn the oven off so they just soak up the heat rather than roasting. Arrange the salad leaves on plates, top with
the roasted vegetables, almonds, dried cherries and crumbled cheese. Dress and eat.
To make the dressing combine
the ingredients and mix well.
I say, if your body tells you it wants soup and stews and comfort food, give it what it wants and sae the salad for spring/ summer! that said, winter roots are brillliant roasted and the salad looks beautiful with all those colours!
ReplyDeleteThanks Shu Han. I love a colourful salad too. Hooray for winter root veg. :)
DeleteThis salad looks wonderful--sweet and filling and warm--perfect for winter. I love how colorful the plate is. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Eileen, I love the sweetness of roasted winter veg. :)
Deletei'm not one for salads in winter myself. i do lots of soups and stews. i do, however, use arugula in my soups and stir-frys. that's my concession to winter.
ReplyDeleteOh yes it's great to add greens to soups and stir-frys. Good way to sneak the salad in!
DeleteThis sounds like a perfect winter salad (colder weather makes me crave more calories, so lighter salads aren't my thing this season either). Plus I love root vegetables. PS - I remember watching Miss Dahl's show when traveling once and was absolutely enamored by her.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kat, yes root veg is perfect in winter, I can't get enough of it. :) Sophie Dahl's books are really lovely and so beautifully photographed.
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