Winter Vegetable Salad

There’s nothing like roasted root veggies for strength–and incomparable sweet taste.  Roasting brings the vegetables natural sugars to the surface, resulting in sweet, succulent, satisfying vegetables.  But don’t let their tenderness fool you–roasting also gives us incredible endurance and keeps us toasty warm.  Try this twist on roasted veggies for yet another way to enjoy their brilliance.

Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredient List:

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed, left whole
• 2 cups daikon spears, 2 inches long, 1/2-inch thick
• 2 cups baby carrots, left whole
• 3-4 stalks celery, 2-inch spears
• 3-4 shallots, peeled, left whole
• Organic soy sauce
• avocado oil
• grated zest of 1 lemon

Lemon-Ginger Vinaigrette

• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated, juiced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Suzanne’s Specialties brown rice syrup
• 1 teaspoon umeboshi or red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil

Step By Step Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375o.  

Toss vegetables together in mixing bowl. Drizzle lightly with soy sauce and oil. Stir gently to coat.  Add lemon rind stir gently into the mixture. Spoon vegetables into a shallow baking dish avoiding overlap. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking until just tender–do not over bake. You want the veggies to be slightly ‘al dente’ so they hold up in a salad.

While the vegetables bake, prepare the dressing. Grate the fresh ginger and squeeze the pulp to extract the juice. Add lemon juice, vinegars, rice syrup and oil. Whisk to combine ingredients and set aside for a few minutes to allow the flavors to develop.  

When the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, gently transfer them to a mixing bowl. Drizzle dressing lightly over them and toss gently to coat.  Serve warm.