Give me a warm roast vegetable salad any day of the week, especially if's it texturally sound and the dressing is creamy! In my house, roast root vegetables are most often dressed with a creamy tahini-style dressing, tossed with raw greens for extra freshness and ideally topped with the added crunch of nuts, or in this case spicy chickpeas. Honestly, it's a combo that never fails. Mix through some fresh herbs and you've quite the culinary experience!
Salads are some of the easiest meals to prepare, and it really takes such little effort to keep them interesting - you just need to think outside the box and with a bit of confidence your left overs will become the hero. I very much hope this recipe will inspire you.
You can add any roast vegetables you like to your salad, but the below recipe is one of my favourite vegetable combinations, especially during the cooler months of the year when root vegetables are such a wonderful addition to our diet (think grounding, calming, slow food).
The chickpeas are best made same day (if not, you may need to reheat and crisp up previously roasted chickpeas). So you can be prepared, your chickpeas will take about 35 minutes in the oven, at 180 degrees, so perhaps make these before you roast your veg in a hotter oven.
Serves 4 as a meal, 6 for a hefty side dish.
To make the chickpeas, follow this recipe.
For the oven
1 large sweet potato
A few small baby potatoes (or 1-2 large potatoes)
2 large carrots or 1 bunch baby carrots
1 large beetroot
1/2 large cauliflower
1 large zucchini, or 2 small
1 red onion, not peeled, chopped into 8 segments
1 tablespoon olive oil
A good pinch or salt and pepper
For the serving platter
1 large handful (about 2-3 cups) baby spinach
1 large handful basil
Follow this recipe for Creamy Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
I don't peel vegetables when I roast them, but go for it if you'd rather. Chop your vegetables into large chunks and scatter onto 2 large oven trays. It's best not to crowd vegetables when they roast because they can tend to steam and go to mush rather than develop the crispier edges. Drizzle with olive oil and give them a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Roast for 20 minutes, then toss the vegetables. If at this stage the zucchini is cooked, remove. Same with cauliflower.
Pop back into the oven for a further 20 minutes to finish off.
Meanwhile, scatter your baby spinach on a large serving plate. When the vegetables are ready, top the spinach with the vegetables and scatter the torn basil leaves. Then, drizzle with a hefty dose of tahini dressing and finish off with a couple of large handfuls of spicy chickpeas.
I love serving this as it is for a Sunday lunch, with a side of honey drizzled haloumi, but it's a beautiful side dish to fish or your choice of protein too.
If you're up for some more salad inspo, do try this Epic Spring Salad with Broad Beans, Mint and Yoghurt.
