Roasted Vegetable Salad

When we lived downtown, we had some fun neighbors that we became friends with and ate dinners with.... Kelly Daniel made this amazing grilled vegetable salad and I have thought of it often. Thanks for the inspiration, Kelly! Being that it's cold outside, I improvised by roasting the vegetables. I think Kelly uses eggplant, but I didn't have it on-hand--but feel free to add some to the roasted vegetables if you have eggplant. I also didn't have zucchini/squash, but the salad ended up being amazingly delicious with just red bell pepper, asparagus, and mushrooms. I'm sure that even adding potato would be delicious! If you don't have feta, you can probably use goat cheese or blue cheese.

I think you'll really love this salad. Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Salad

Serves 6-8

To Roast:

1 red bell pepper, cut into big pieces

1 small bundle of asparagus, washed, with tough stems removed (probably about 1/3 of the asparagus)

1 package whole mushrooms, rinsed and cut in half

1 zucchini or squash, chopped

2 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed small (optional)

For rest of salad:
1 head of red leaf lettuce, rinsed and dried with paper towels, then torn or roughly chopped
4 oz. reduced-fat feta, crumbled

4 green onions, chopped (optional)



Dressing:

1-2 cloves garlic, minced (preferably crushed)

2-3 Tbsp. olive oil

1-2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place whatever vegetables you are using in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with some olive oil, salt, and pepper--just enough to coat them evenly.

Spread the vegetables in one layer in a large roasting pan, and roast in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes--or until the vegetables are tender (I like them to still stay a bit crisp-tender so I don't cook them very long. But you can leave them in longer-just make sure to check on them). Halfway through the roasting process, stir once if you can remember to do it.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven and allow the vegetables to cool completely. This may take about 15 minutes. (You can roast the vegetables a day in advance and just store them in the fridge until you are ready to use them.)

Meanwhile, in a capped container (like a jelly jar or small tupperware), shake your dressing ingredients.

In a large bowl, toss your vegetables with your lettuce greens, the feta, green onions (if using) and your dressing.

Serve immediately.

By the way, you can leave the garlic out of the salad, but man does it make it good!

What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. --Augustus Saint-Gaudens