Roast Veg Salad with Feta

This is a great make-ahead salad that I like to prepare on a Sunday afternoon for lunch on Monday and Tuesday. The trick to stop the salad leaves from going soft is it to mix the dressing into the roast veg rather than drizzling it all over the salad. I put a thin layer of avocado between the leaves and the roast veg to prevent too much of the dressing from seeping through too.

Preparation time 20 minutes, cooking time 30 minutes, cooling time 30-60 minutes

 

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a main meal or 6-8 as a side dish

  • 1/4 pumpkin; peeled, seeds removed then diced into 2cm squares
  • 1 red capsicum halved and deseeded
  • 1 yellow capsicum halved and deseeded
  • 3 medium courgettes sliced
  • 250g cherry tomatoes halved
  • 4 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
  • 4 handfuls of baby rocket leaves
  • 1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
  • 1/2 large avocado
  • 200g feta
  • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

For the dressing

  • 2 anchovy fillets
  • 1 tsp capers
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Freshly ground salt and pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C while you prepare the vegetables
  2. Line a large baking tray with baking paper and scatter the pumpkin on the tray, sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper and bake in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes
  3. Add the capsicum halves and courgette slices and bake for a further 20 minutes or until all of the vegetables are soft but not mushy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cooled, cut the capsicum into 1.5cm squares
  4. Prepare the dressing by finely chopping the parsley, anchovies and capers then mixing in a bowl with the oil, vinegar and salt and pepper.
  5. If putting the salad in separate containers for lunch but the spinach and rocket in the bottom of the containers then top with the onion slices then thin slices of avocado
  6. Mix together the roast veggies, halved cherry tomatoes and salad dressing in a large bowl then distribute on top of the avocado layers *the vegetables need to be completely cooled before you mix them with the salad leaves if you are not eating this salad straight away*
  7. Top with crumbled feta and pumpkin seeds.

If not serving immediately store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

 

A layer of avocado between the leaves and the roast veg should stop the spinach and rocket from going soggy

Wait for the roast veg to cool before mixing it with the tomatoes and salad dressing

If not eating immediately, store in an airtight container in the fridge