Roast Vegetable Salad

I love eating salads all year round. This salad with roasted vegetables makes the perfect winter accompaniment to my Blackened Chicken or steak. It is based on a salad I have been making for a year but updated to include lower carb vegetables and ‘candied’ pecans.

I love adding Tuscan kale to salads, but find it can be a little tough if I don’t massage it well with olive oil. This technique helps to break down the fibrous membranes.

Rather than the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beetroot that I used in the past, I have roasted pumpkin, carrots, and parsnips—all lower carb alternatives.

The toasted pecans are made with maple syrup, again, a better alternative to the sugar version. If you are keto or strict, you can omit the maple syrup and use the pecans roasted with a sprinkle of sea salt. They do add a satisfying crunch and can be stored in an airtight container and used for other salads—or to snack on!

And to finish the salad off is the tart and super versatile thyme dressing. I often make double the mixture and store it in a screw-top jar in the fridge.

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Roast Vegetable Salad

Yield: 4

Author: Lee Newcombe

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 50 Min

A delicious low-carb roasted vegetable salad finished with toasted pecans and a tart thyme dressing.

Ingredients

• 120g rocket or rocket and spinach mix
• 1 cup kale, stem removed and chopped
• 1/2 cup feta cheese (or ½ block)
• ¼ Jap pumpkin, chopped into cubes
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices
• 2 parsnip, peeled and cut into thick slices
• ½ cup pecans
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ⅓ cup mint, roughly chopped

Dressing

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 Garlic Clove, crushed
• 1 lemon juiced and zested
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 ½ tablespoon fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C.
2. Roast parsnip, pumpkin and carrot for about 30 min or until browned and cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
3. Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add the pecans and cook, shaking often for a few minutes until the nuts are cooked. Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and sea salt. Toss well, making sure to coat each pecan evenly. Let them cool.
4. To make the dressing, add the mustard, garlic, lemon juice and zest, apple cider, maple syrup, thyme, salt, and olive oil. Whisk or shake well until fully combined. I use half of this quantity in my salad and store the remainder in an airtight container in the fridge.
5. To serve, add the salad ingredients to a large bowl and stir through the dressing. Sprinkle the salad with the pecans. Serve immediately.

Please note: The nutritional information is included as a guide only.