Roasted Vegetable Salad

I love roasted vegetables year round but especially in the winter. Squash, potatoes, asparagus, beets, brussels sprouts, broccoli... the options and combinations are endless. This salad is a great way to use up whatever veggies you have on hand in the fridge or to reinvent leftover roasted veggies for lunch the next day.

I had three fresh beets, approximately one cup of fresh brussels sprouts, half of a yellow bell pepper, one small sweet potato and the white ends of three very large green onions on hand in this case. I peeled/cleaned the veggies and diced them into 3/4 inch pieces- halving the brussels sprouts and green onion bulbs. I kept the beets in a separate bowl so they wouldn't stain everything ruby red. It is actually pretty that way too but I like to have a variation of colors.

I tossed the veggies with olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper and a pinch of dried thyme and roasted them for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees until all of the veggies were golden brown and tender. I used two cookie sheets lined with tin foil and lightly sprayed with Pam for easy clean up. I wanted to be sure the vegetables weren't crowded so they would roast and caramelize without steaming.

I served them at room temperature over a bed of arugula drizzled generously with a quick homemade balsamic vinaigrette. I shaved some good parmesan cheese over the top as well- using a vegetable peeler to get nice wide ribbons.

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

a squeeze of honey

half of a garlic clove, grated with a rasp

sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper

This would be fantastic with goat cheese crumbles instead of parmesan, you could also add some oven roasted shrimp or left over rotisserie chicken for some protein.