SO much you can do with roast veggie salad.
ROAST veggie salad is one of those dishes that can take pride of place at any table, at any time. For me, the beauty of this one is the dressing, which is my own – it took a bit of tinkering to get it the way I liked it and the trick to it is, you can have it as sweet or not as you personally like; it’s all about the tweaking of it to get the taste to your personal preference and each of the ingredients lends itself well to that. The same applies to the vegetables – you can choose whatever tuber or root veggies you like for this and even a few that aren’t. Colour is the theme of this dish, so the brighter the better, and the garnish of sesame seeds is always a must for me. Any herb blend you like can also be used when tossing the vegetables. This dish is best served warm (not hot, not cold).
Ingredients Potatoes, carrots, radishes, pumpkin, kumara, onion (quartered) halved, quartered if smaller, or chopped into small roasting-sized pieces, enough to suit the size platter you want. 1 tbs olive oil 1 tsp garlic, minced or granules Half tsp each of oregano, tarragon Lemon pepper to taste Two handfuls of basil leaves, or mesclun mix Sesame seeds
Dressing ¼ C extra virgin olive oil 2 tbs maple syrup (real, not flavoured) ¼ C orange juice 2-3 tbs Balsamic vinegar
Method Toss all veggies in oil, add herbs and combine the lot well. Tip onto a prepared roasting dish which is covered with baking paper. Roast on medium heat until nicely cooked with a slightly crisp finish. Don’t burn. To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients and with a small whisk, mix really well. The trick is to keep tasting until you have reached the taste you like – I like it sweet and tangy, so the tweaking for me is in the maple syrup and vinegar. On a platter arrange the basil or mesclun mix – basil is my preference. Remove the roasted veggies onto another plate and allow to cool slightly. When the required temperature is met, arrange on the bed of greens and gently pour the dressing over the top. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and serve immediately.
