This was a delicious appetizer salad. The different textures of the root vegetables worked well together, and I cannot recommend pumpkin seed oil enough as a seasonal vinaigrette oil.
My mother and I first discovered it in Austria nearly 40 years ago, when we kept on having the most delicious salad dressings everywhere we went without being able to identify the main ingredient. Thankfully we dined with an Austrian friend at some point during our trip who could. I have used it in salad dressings since, but it is also very good with roasted root vegetables during the winter months.
You could use any roasted vegetables and green you want for this salad; what you are essentially looking for are interesting textural and color combinations. I happened to have beets and squash available, as well as leeks and spinach so that is the direction I took but substitute what you have on hand in the recipe below.
You could also sprinkle the salad with roasted pumpkin seeds or walnuts for crunch, which I considered, but decided to avoid the crunchy texture at the last minute. Blue cheese could work too.
2 boiled beets, peeled and sliced
1 Honeynut squash, roasted, halved and sliced
2 cups chopped leeks, steamed until tender
2 bunches of spinach, leaves only
1/3 cup pumpkin seed oil
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
Juice from half a lemon
Salt
Place your vegetables attractively on your serving plate.
Combine the oil, vinegar and salt together to form a dressing. Drizzle over the vegetables.
Spritz the lemon juice over the top of the salad.
Serve as is to show the pretty salad, toss to combine before serving.
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