Warm root veg salad

Salads don’t have to be restricted to the summer. Roasted root vegetables lend themselves really well to wintery salads, especially when combined with halloumi. If you prefer, you could serve the salad with feta, Turkish cheese or goat’s cheese instead of halloumi.

I like to eat mine with a flat bread and doused with a punchy dressing and here, I give you two dressings to try.

This recipe was developed with Kitchen Titbits.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• Selection of around 4 root vegetables, peeled and chopped roughly the same sizeI calculate the amount needed roughly along the lines of 1 of each veg per person or ¼ of a veg if it is a large one like celeriac or swede
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 red chilli, left whole but slit in half part way
• 5 lime leaves (I used frozen, you could use fresh or dried, or leave out and use extra lime – not quite the same but it’ll still be tasty)
• Leftover roast chicken, raw chicken, prawns, or tofu
• Your choice of veg (I used thin batons of carrot, sugarsnap peas cut in half and beansprouts)
• 1 lime, cut in half with one half cut into two wedges
• 2 portions of rice noodles, cooked or soaked according to the instructions on the packet
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• Handful of chopped coriander (if you have it)

Equipment to have ready:

• Sharp knife
• Peeler
• Small saucepan
• Roasting tray
• Frying pan
• Jar, glass or mug to mix the dressing in
• Teaspoon measure or a teaspoon
• Tablespoon measure or a tablespoon

Parsley dressing:

• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Splash of cider vinegar
• 4 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Harissa dressing:

• 1 tsp harissa paste
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Splash of sherry or red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp mint, finely chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Lay the root veg and onion out on a roasting tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for around 30 mins, or until browned and soft. The cooking time will depend on how large the pieces of veg are.
3. Whilst the veg is roasting, put the Puy lentils in a pan with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil then simmer for around 15 minutes, until cooked. (If you use green lentils, cook according to the timings on the packet.)
4. Prepare the dressing by putting all the ingredients except the herbs in a jar, glass or mug and shake or mix well. Taste and adjust the amount of oil, lemon, vinegar and seasoning according to your taste.
5. Five minutes before the end of the cooking time for the veg, remove the tray from the oven and sprinkle over the pumpkin seeds before returning the tray to the oven.
6. Once the veg and lentils are cooked, fry the halloumi in a very hot, dry frying pan for a few minutes on each side to give it a lovely brown colour.
7. Stir the herbs into the dressing.
8. Stir a few teaspoons of dressing into the lentils.
9. Plate up the vegetables, sprinkle over the lentils, top with the halloumi and drizzle over the remainder of the dressing.