Roast Vegetable and Grain Salad

Roast vegetable salads are filling and healthy, and they’re great during the change of seasons when you start wanting to eat more salad, but the weather is still a bit cold. This is a flexible recipe, so use what you have on hand, what you like, and what’s on special. This salad serves four as the main part of a meal, or up to eight as a side dish. 

Serves 4

Equipment
Pot 
Colander or sieve
Roasting dish
Small jar or sealed container
Salad bowl or serving dish

Ingredients

For the salad
1 beetroot
1 large carrot
2 potatoes
1 parsnip
1 kumara (or chunk of pumpkin)
1-2 tbsp olive oil, or olive oil spray
1 tbsp dried herbs of your choice (try sage, oregano, thyme, basil or mixed herbs)
Salt and pepper
½ cup of uncooked pearl barley
3-4 handfuls of baby spinach or rocket

For the dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice)
1 tsp brown sugar
 ¼ tsp salt
 ¼ tsp ground pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C fan bake (or 230-240°C regular bake).
2. Put the barley in a pot with plenty of salted water and bring to a rapid boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until tender. It will take around 40 minutes. Drain the barley, cover and let it stand for 5-10 minutes to absorb any excess water.
3. Prepare your choice of root vegetables by peeling and chopping into 2cm chunks. Aim for about 6+ cups of a range of chopped vegetables.
4. Arrange the harder vegetables (beetroot and carrot) in a roasting dish first. Drizzle with a little oil, or spray with olive oil spray, and put them in the oven for about 10 minutes to get a head start.
5. Remove the roasting dish from the oven and add the rest of the vegetables, drizzle or spray with some more olive oil, then sprinkle over the mixed herbs and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Return the roasting dish to the oven for another 30-40 minutes, stirring the vegetables once or twice during cooking time, and roast until the vegetables are tender and golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes for a warm salad, or cool completely for a cold salad.
7. Make the dressing by putting all ingredients into a small jar or sealed container and shaking to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
8. Toss together salad greens, roast vegetables and cooked barley in a serving bowl or platter, drizzle over the dressing and serve.

 Excerpt from Wholesale - Pathways cookbook by Amber Bremner