When I was making this recipe for the first time, I honestly didn’t know how good it was going to turn out. I was half making it up as I went and was half-remembering a recipe I had seen on Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat with Samin Nosrat on Netflix. In the episode, she roasted a bunch of vegetables and made a big pot of beans, and tossed them all together with a shallot dressing, and piled on some different herbs on top.

This version is very much a riff off that recipe, except it doesn’t have beans and it includes more spices, feta cheese, and some toasted nuts. All together it’s pretty easy and comes together in about 45 minutes or less. Would highly recommend making a big plate of this and eating it alongside some really good sourdough bread or even some roast chicken. Or fish? Honesty, it would be good with pretty much anything.

Roasted Veggie Salad with Shallot Dressing

• 1 small bunch of carrots

• 1/2 head of cauliflower

• 1/2 med-large bunch of broccoli rabe

• Olive oil

• Cumin

• Turmeric

• Sesame Seeds

• Feta

• 2 tbsp Pine nuts (optional)

• Salt and Pepper

• Lemon zest

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 small shallot

• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1/4 tsp finely chopped dill

• Salt + pepper to taste

Directions: OKAY, so altogether this recipe is pretty simple and the end result will make it seem like you spent way longer on it than you really did.

First, I like to make my salad dressing as my first step. That way all the ingredients can mingle together and I think it just makes the end result even better. Start with finely chopping up a small shallot and your dill so you have about 1/4 teaspoon of dill. Next, take a jar (or bowl—I prefer a jar so I can shake the dressing) and throw in your finely chopped shallot and dill along with ~1/4 cup of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar a good pinch of salt, and a few cracks of pepper, I did about three but you can do more or less depending on your personal preference. Next, close the lid and shake generously until the vinegar and olive oil have fully combined. Taste and add any more salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Set aside for later.

NEXT! The vegetables. The best part of this dish. Start by preheating the oven to 375* F and start prepping all your veg. For this dish, I used carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli rabe. You can probably use any kind of vegetables for this dish but a few things to keep in mind. 1. choose vegetables that have about the same cook time or at the very least, cut them the same thickness so they cook evenly, and 2. choose a few different vegetables with different colors and textures. The end result will look more appealing and also have a nice mix of mouthfeel.

Back to the carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli rabe. First things first—wash all your veggies, of course. Then, for the carrots start by skinning them, and removing the carrot tops, then cut them down the center to split them in half. Carrots can take some time to cook so I like to cut them a bit thinner to speed up the time. For the cauliflower, remove all the leaves and cut the head into steaks that are about the same thickness as the carrots, essentially just a rough chop vertically a few times (no horizontal cuts!). Cauliflower cooks a bit faster so you can afford thicker pieces here. Lastly for the broccoli rabe, cut off the bottom thicker stems, just about the first 1/4 inch to remove the rougher end. Next cut the stalks into three sections or about bite-sized pieces. They will shrink so they can lean on the larger side!

By this time your oven should be just about ready. Before the veg goes in, I want to start by quickly toasting the pine nuts. Using a small cookie sheet, evenly distribute the 2 tablespoons of pinenuts and pop them in the oven. They will toast quickly so check on them every minute and give them a good shake. They should be a golden brown in about 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a small bowl.

Back (again) to the veggies. You’ll need two cookie sheets. One larger one and one smaller one, but work with what you got—I would just recommend putting the carrots and cauliflower on the same sheet since they will take about the same time to cook and you’ll be removing the broccoli rabe a few minutes sooner than the other veg. First, start with the carrots and put them on the larger cookie sheet, they’ll take up about half the space. Drizzle enough olive oil over the carrots and toss with your hands so they are all evenly coated. Arrange them on the tray so they are evenly spaced out to ensure they will roast and not steam! Next, drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the other side of the sheet and rub it around to coat the bottom. Lay the cauliflower on top and coat with more oil. Gently rub the oil on the tops so they are evenly coated as well. I say gently because you do not want them to break apart, try keeping them intact! Next, sprinkle over your turmeric and cumin. I didn’t put any measurements because you can really put as much as you like. I like enough so it evenly coats the tops on the veggies with a ratio that’s are 3 parts turmeric and 1 part cumin (cumin is a bit strong on vegetables!). In the end, I probably sprinkle about 1 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp of cumin, but again this can be up to your personal preference. Lastly, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. I don’t like to do a final toss with my hands only because turmeric gets everywhere and is so hard to remove, but you most certainly can, I usually do a little shimmy of the tray though to help distribute the spices a bit. Once your carrots and cauliflower look good, throw them in the oven.

Next move to your broccoli rabe. This is much simpler. Simply throw it on the pan, coat it with a good amount of olive oil, and massage it into the leaves and stems. Season with salt and pepper and into the oven they go. I didn’t put any additional spices on the broccoli rabe since I think the bitter flavor works well on its own.

The carrots and cauliflower will cook for about 25-30 minutes, but check them at about 20 to see how they’re coming. The goal is to have the cauliflower be golden brown on the bottom, along with the carrots. Both should be soft and tender as well, I like to do a poke test with a fork to make sure it can easily slide in.

The broccoli rabe will cook for about 15 minutes. You’re looking for a few crispy leaves and the stems to be tender.

Once your veggies are cooked it’s time to assemble! I like to layer this dish so you get all the flavors throughout. Start with your cauliflower first and a layer of a few carrots and broccoli rabe pieces. Drizzle with a bit of dressing (make sure to get the shallots in there), some pine nuts, a few chunks of feta (more or less depending on how much you like), and some lemon zest. Repeat with the remainder of the veggies, feta, nuts, and dressing. Top off with more lemon zest, some dill, and flakey salt if desired (which it should be).

And ENJOY! ✨