Roasted Vegetable Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

I have some beets, as per usual, and also some brussels sprouts. P was wanting some of the Anson Mills grits we got, but I didn't really think that was going to be enough for dinner (despite us now both being sick). That being said, I wanted to keep it light (because we're both now sick). So I decided to roast some veggies and make them part of a salad. This is kind of sweet-tart, seasonal, inexpensive and healthful. Hope you enjoy!

1 cup stale bread, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon sumac

1 large beet, cut into thin half moons
3 brussels sprouts, cut into quarters
1/2 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, cut into 1" pieces
1-2 tablespoons oil of your choice (I went olive, but standard vegetable would also be good; I briefly contemplated sesame)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon each: sumac, fennel seeds

3 cups torn green leaf lettuce
3/4 cup assorted cherry and/or grape tomatoes
3 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

drippings from vegetable roast
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional; just add it if you don't feel enough oil survived the roast)

Heat oven to 350F. Toss the bread cubes in the oil, salt, pepper and sumac. Spread them out on a foil lined baking sheet (or not foiled lined; it just makes my clean-up easier). Roast for about 15 minutes. Yay croutons! Combine the second group of ingredients on in a roasting pan (or on the baking sheet) and throw (not really) in the oven. Raise the heat to 400F, and let the veggies stay in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until done. Turn off the oven, but leave them in there to finish off. Prepare your third group of ingredients (the seeds take me a while, personally. I view the deseeding of a pomegranate to be a nearly sacred event, so I take my time, enjoying the pop of each seed as it leaves the pith and plops into my bowl). Line plates with lettuce. Pile half the roasted veggies on each plate in the middle of the lettuce, then surround with all but the pomegranate seeds. Whisk together the last group of ingredients and pour over the salad, then top with seeds. Serves 2.

Comments

  1. Darius T. Williams7:00 AM

    Yes - this looks like a winner all the way around!

    -DTW
    www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. test it comm7:09 PM

    Roasting vegetables is the way to go. Nice looking salad!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lentil, Chick Pea and Eggplant Boil

Image
Sorry for the delay. I actually made this days ago, but due to my busy school schedule (yay! The semester is finally almost over!), I didn't have time until now to post it. I always forget about lentils. I always have them in the house, and like them quite a bit, but most of the time, they don't even exist as an option in my head. I don't know why that is. I've been telling P for a while now I wanted to eat more lentils, so finally I just made some. I also decided to take this as an opportunity to use up some spare veggies laying about. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 anise bulb, sliced 1 small onion, cut into rings 1/2 jalepeno, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil salt to taste 1 cup yellow potato, cubed 2 cups cubed and peeled eggplant 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut into quarters 1 cup lentils 3 - 4 1/2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon each: clove, cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed 1/2 preserved lemon, diced 1 roma tomato, chopped 1 cup mixe...
Read more

Gems, Lovely Gems

Image
I actually have a bit more homework than I anticipated, so today I just want to tell you guys about gems. It appears that no one really knows what gems are anymore, but back in the 1800s they were a popular, if heavy, treat. So much so, that many pioneers even found room in their wagons to bring a gem pan. By the early 1900s, gems had fallen out of favour and most people just went with muffins. It's a sad, sad thing, really. Traditionally, gem pans were made from cast iron. You can still find beautiful, old cast iron pans on eBay. In fact, aside from scouring antique shops hopefully (and often fruitlessly), eBay is the only place I know that routinely "carries" them. You can find a proper gem pan for as little as US$5, and I've seen them as much as US$300. You just never really know. My advice, however, is to find one that's shallow, made in the mid-1800s (this is when the pans were really in their prime, quality-wise), and in extremely poor condition. I say to fi...
Read more

Bergamot Curd

Image
As promised, here is the curd recipe. This is perfect for scones, toast, just to eat, or for an unusual twist on the filling typically used in those little fruit tarts. If bergamots are not available to you, you could always use lemon, Seville orange, sweet types of orange (cut the sugar a bit though), lime, pomello, grapefruit or any other citrus. Enjoy! 9 ounces freshly squeezed bergamot juice 2 tablespoons finely grated zest 1 1/2 cups sugar 6 eggs 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 12 tablespoons butter, cut into 1 tablespoon bits Whisk all but butter into a saucepan. Begin to heat over medium low heat and add all the butter. Whisking periodically, cook until the whisk marks stay in the curd. Pack into sterilised jars (or you can just put this in a jar and put it in the fridge, if you don't want to can it) and process 15 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
Read more