This warm roasted veggie salad served on a bed of kale makes a perfect main meal or side dish on a cold day. It is also a perfect way to get those nutrient packed veggies in, providing important vitamins and phytonutrients to support cellular health. And it is perfect way to use-up any of those left-over veggies in the fridge!
When making this I often use broccoli, mushrooms, butternut squash and red onion but you could easily add or substitute things like zucchini, peppers or sweet potato. As well as add a protein, like grilled chicken to turkey breasts or a nice piece of herb and citrus topped salmon and mix in some cooked wild rice or quinoa for some quality carbohydrate.
The ingredients you will need:
A variety of veggies to roast (about 1-1.5 cups per main meal serving): butternut squash, red onion, broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers etc.)
Kale - 1 large bundle makes approximately 3 main meal sized salads.
olive oil (or avocado oil/ flax seed oil etc.)
For the ginger lime dressing you will need:
1 large garlic clove, minced
The juice from 2 fresh limes (approximately 6 Tbsp. lime juice
A thumb-sized chunk of ginger (or more if you really like ginger - like me!)
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (low sodium if possible)
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
Dried chilies if you want to add some heat
Start by preheating your oven to 400F.
Chop veggies into approximately 2cm cubed chunks and lightly toss in extra virgin olive oil, along with a sprinkling of dried herbs of choice (thyme, oregano) and some pepper.
Place veggies in the oven to roast for about 20-30 minutes, until tender. Toss them lightly part-way through roasting.
While you wait, mix the ginger lime dressing ingredients in a jar (I find this easiest as it saves whisking, stirring etc. – simply place the lid on and shake). Set the dressing aside – you will need to give it another good shake before dressing the salad.
Prepare the kale by washing and coarsely chopping it into chunks off of the stalks. Place in a steamer with a small amount of water in the bottom.
The kale will take less then 5 minutes to steam slightly, just to soften (not make mushy!). To stop it from becoming any softer, once desired consistency is achieved pull out the steamer and place it briefly (about 1 minute) in a bowl of ice cold water. Pull it out, give it a gentle toss and let it sit to allow the water to strain off.
Once the veggies are done, place a bed of kale on each plate or in a bowl and top with roasted veggies (along with any protein or wild rice/quinoa). Shake the dressing and lightly top the salad.
Pre-mixed this can store fine undressed and be eaten the next day cold. Or keep the veggies separate and re-heat them before mixing with the kale etc. for a warm left-over version.