Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

This is a tasty and hearty salad to make in the winter when there are plenty of root vegetables available. Roasting them caramelizes the natural sugars, creating deep, rich flavours that makes them absolutely delicious. I am not a fan of turnips so I omitted them. Sometimes I use a store bought vinaigrette but do try the homemade version. The beets are cooked separately so they do not bleed all over the other vegetables. The  butternut squash does not take as long to cook compared to the carrots and parsnips so they are cooked separately as well. Line your pans with tin foil for easy clean up.
My family loves this salad and it is another way to get them to eat more vegetables.





Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:

Salad:

2 medium fresh beets (about 12 ounces)

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper

1 ¾ pounds fresh carrots, turnips, and/or parsnips

3-4 Cups peeled butternut squash

4 medium shallots, peeled and quartered

8 cups torn romaine

½ cup chopped pecans, toasted

⅓ Cup feta cheese


Dressing:

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1 clove garlic, minced


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and peel the beets; cut into 1-inch pieces. Place in a 2-quart baking dish. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the salt and pepper to taste. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.


Peel and chop the butternut squash into 1 inch pieces.Place on a foil lined baking sheet. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 375 degree oven until tender but not too soft.


Meanwhile, peel the carrots, turnips, and/or parsnips. Cut carrots and turnips into irregular-shape 1-inch pieces. Cut parsnips into irregular 3/4-inch pieces. Place on a foil lined baking pan. Add shallots. Toss with 2 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper.


Remove foil from dish with beets; stir beets gently. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Return beets to oven and place pan with shallot mixture alongside beets. Roast both pans, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until tender.


Meanwhile, for dressing, in a screw-top jar combine the 6 tablespoons olive oil, the white wine vinegar, thyme, Dijon-style mustard, honey, garlic, and additional salt and pepper to taste; cover and shake well.


To serve, in a large bowl toss the romaine with the dressing to coat. Place on a platter. Top with the vegetables. Sprinkle pecans and feta over all. Serve immediately.

Print Recipe:Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

Peel and chop beets. Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Cover with foil. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven. Stir the beets. Return to oven at the same time you are cooking the carrots and other vegetables.

Peel and chop the butternut squash. Toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake in 375 oven until tender. 

Peel and chop the carrots and parsnips/turnips.

Arrange on foil lined pan. Add shallots. Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in 425 degree oven until tender.

All cooked and caramelized.

Butternut Squash all cooked up.

Toss salad with the dressing and top salad with vegetables, pecans and cheese.