Salads all year long.

I love salads. The problem is that a lot of salad vegetables aren’t in season all year round and are often a lot more expensive. There’s no way I want to spend extra money if I really don’t need to. That’s why it’s great to try different salads during the cooler months that utilise cheap seasonal produce. Having a winter salad for dinner is a great alternative to the stodgy heavy foods we tend to gravitate towards when the weather is cooler. After all, salad shouldn’t be limited to the warmer months but should be enjoyed all year round. That’s why this warm winter salad is perfect.

Beetroot. You can buy it pretty cheap during summer and autumn but this year I’ve found it’s still pretty cheap over the winter months we’ve had so far. It’s such an incredibly pretty vegetable – deep burgundy red in colour. Plus for a vegetable it’s fairly sweet which is why it’s a great vegetable to have in a salad to counterbalance the acid in salad dressings.

The combination of pumpkin and baby spinach is a classic pairing.  I love these two vegetables together. So delicious – especially when you roast the pumpkin and the baby spinach is fresh and crisp.

How to remove the red stain on hands from beetroot

If you don’t have a pair of food preparation gloves or even kitchen rubber gloves available, your hands are likely to become stained during preparation and when cooking beetroot. It’s inevitable. There are a couple of tricks you do to remove the stain.

• Rub some lemon juice over them, Rinse and repeat; or
• Add baking soda and a little water together, then rub on your hands vigorously. Rinse and repeat.

Warm Winter Salad

Made with beetroot, pumpkin and baby spinach, this recipe is simple yet packed with flavour. By roasting both the beetroot and pumpkin you're adding a richer flavour into the salad. Just because the weather gets colder doesn't mean you still can't enjoy a salad.

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings 2

Ingredients

 

Salad

• 200 g pumpkin, seeds and skin removed, cubed
• 2 beetroot, medium sized, cubed
• 1 teaspoon Garlic salt
• 50 g baby spinach, washed
• 50 g rocket leaves, washed
• 1 red onion, medium, sliced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 avocado, medium, diced
• 30 g feta cheese, (omit for Vegan option)

Dressing

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic glaze
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

 

Salad

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.
• On an oven tray, spread out the diced beetroot and diced pumpkin. Sprinkle with garlic salt and then place tray into oven for 25 minutes. Once caramelised, remove from oven.
• In a large bowl, add the roasted beetroot, roasted pumpkin, spinach, rocket, avocado, red onion and tomato. Mix together and divide between two plates.
• Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and drizzle salad dressing over the top before serving.

Dressing

• In a shaker or container with a lid, add all dressing ingredients together. Secure lid and give it a good shake to combine all together.

Notes

• You can buy prepackaged bags of rocket and baby spinach from your local supermarket. If you don't have this available, just buy these two separately or alternatively just double the quantity of baby spinach and don't include the rocket.
• Add chopped grilled chicken into the salad if you want to add some protein.
• The balsamic dressing goes wonderfully with this salad however if you want to swap it with one of your favourite dressings, there's no reason why you couldn't.