Warm autumn veggie salad with lemon dressing

Festive roasted sweet potatoes, cauliflower, & herbs

Yesterday I shared a recipe for super-easy, super-delish lemon rosemary chicken breasts. Now on to the side dish! My dear friend and hostess extraordinaire, Shea, brought this mix of veggie deliciousness into my life. Pinch of Yum calls this an "autumn glow salad" — a tantalizing way to sell roasted sweet potatoes and cauliflower. It's really so good, especially with some tweaks.

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AUTUMN VEGGIE SALAD 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

FOR THE VEGGIES:

1 cup quinoa, cooked

2 bags frozen cauliflower florets, thawed and chopped

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

olive oil

a few sprigs/leaves of rosemary & thyme/sage, finely chopped

handful of craisins

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped parsley

1 large apple, chopped (optional)

handful chopped nuts (optional)

DRESSING:

1 glove garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp jarred)

2/3 cup olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp honey (optional) 

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

WHAT YOU'LL DO

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up. Cook quinoa according to package directions.

2. Chop up the sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and herbs (not parsley). In a bowl, toss together with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of salt and pepper. Continue tossing, drizzling, and seasoning until all the chopped potatoes and cauliflower are pretty well coated. 

3. Spread chopped veggies onto the prepared baking sheet (spread in an even layer for the best roasting results). Roast in the 425-degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, toss the veggies to ensure even roasting, then roast another 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. 

4. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined, or pour into a lidded jar and shake until combined. 

5. When veggies are done roasting, place them in a large bowl with the cooked quinoa, chopped apple and nuts (if using), and a handful of craisins. Slowly add dressing to taste, tossing to coat. Add a handful of finely chopped parsley and toss. 

* Salad can be served warm or chilled (I prefer warm!). 

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The tweaks I made: Be sure to use fresh herbs and toss them with the veggies before roasting — don't just place sprigs of herbs on the baking sheet. I tried it that way the first time and the results weren't as flavorful. Also, while the apples make sense and add a lovely harvest touch, I wasn't big on the texture they added — craisins were much better in both flavor and consistency, in my opinion. Same with the chopped nuts — you just don't need them.

I also didn't add the parsley to the dressing, as Pinch of Yum suggests; the oil just weighed it down. To avoid soggy parsley, add it at the very end instead. Pinch of Yum also recommends storing the salad and dressing separately if you have leftovers, but I found combining the two works just fine. 

With the leftover salad, I added chopped leftover lemon rosemary chicken for seriously scrumptious chicken-veggie bowls. Pairing these flavors was like eating spoonfuls of autumn. Talk about yum.