Honey-Sage Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

A common meal in my house growing up was roast pork with root vegetables. My mom would fill a massive roasting dish with a pork tenderloin and scatter the bottom of the pan with sweet & regular potatoes, carrots, parsnips and onions tossed with garlic salt and herbs. I'd eat the leftover roasted veggies all week long - they're lightly caramelized, sweet and delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's a definite favorite of mine!

As the season changes from Winter to Spring, the meals I make start to shift from hearty dishes to lighter fare - generally less meat and more veggies, and lots of salads. This salad incorporates the comforting and warm flavors associated with winter but lightens it up on salad greens with a vibrant vinaigrette.... and I added some sweet roasted golden beets because I love beets in salads. (You could use red ones but they'd turn everything pink which just looks kinda funky, but either way does the trick!)

The root veggies are roasted and brushed with honey and sage and served warm on the salad - sweet, savory and super satisfying. The dressing is bright with white wine vinegar and zesty dijon which is great over the slightly bitter arugula - and then the goat cheese gets all melty and soft from the veggies and it's perfect. It's hearty enough as a vegetarian dish (probably because I serve a massive pile of the roasted veggies) but it would easily pair with a protein. I've used apple chicken sausages in the past which were great. Regular chicken breast, steak or pork would work well, too, if you have serious carnivores in the house.

Another awesome thing about this dish is that you can roast a boat load of veggies on Sunday for an easy assembly of the salad during the week - just microwave the veggies! It's super healthy, filling and a good way to start eating a bit healthier (without feeling like you're missing out on satisfaction and flavor) and shed off some of that winter hibernation. Bring on Spring!


This recipe serves about four people as a main dish. If you add protein to the mix it could stretch to five or six.





Honey-Sage Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:
3 beets (gold is preferred, red works fine)
2 sweet potatoes
1 lb parsnips
1 lb carrots
2 large onions
2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped fine
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper
4 cups loosely packed arugula
4 cups loosely packed spinach
2 tbsp goat cheese per plate, crumbled

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Wash and peel the beets, wrap in foil and roast in oven for an hour before adding in the remaining vegetables. You can put them directly on the rack.
• Wash and peel the parsnips and carrots. I like to just scrub the sweet potatoes and leave the skin on. Chop these veggies into bite sized pieces and quarter the onions, leaving the layers intact. 
• Toss vegetables with two tbsp oil and season with garlic salt and pepper. Spread evenly on baking sheet (or two sheets if necessary) and roast for 30 minutes, while continuing to roast the beets. Warm the honey slightly and brush the veggies on the baking sheet and top with sage. Place back in oven and roast until golden brown and tender, 10-20 minutes more. 
• Meanwhile whisk together or shake in a mason jar the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. 
• Assemble salads with arugula and spinach, warm roasted veggies, goat cheese and top with dressing.