Roasted Winter Vegetable Salad

                                          
My fiance and I went to a cooking class two winters ago and were taught how to make a delicious roasted winter vegetable salad. Ever since then I have been meaning to re-create the salad at home. On Saturday night we wanted to have a light meal so decided to give it a whirl. The contrast of the crunchy chopped romaine mixed with the warm winter vegetables is really delicious! Of course, as a I often do, I made too many vegetables so we re-created the meal with a different spin on Sunday night!
Recipe compliments of Miette Culinary Studio in NYC.

Ingredients:
2 parsnips, peeled and thinly diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 cups of cubed butternut squash (approximately 1/2 inch pieces)
1 medium celery root, thinly sliced
1 cup baby carrots
1/4 cup fresh rosemary
1 leek, thinly sliced (light green and white parts only)
romaine hearts, very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup goat cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Step one: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place celery root, carrots and butternut squash in medium sized pyrex dish, mix in 2 tablespoons of  olive oil and rosemary, salt and pepper and mix well. Bake for 20 minutes, cover and set aside.

                             
Step two: Place parsnips, cumin and one tablespoon of olive oil in a small mixing bowl and mix well. Place in small pyrex dish. Bake for 20 minutes, cover and set aside.

Step three: Chop romaine hearts into very thin strips and place on plates. In a small pot boil water, once boiling, blanch the leek for 3 minutes and set aside.

Step four: In a small bowl mix goat cheese, 1 tablespoon olive oil and herbs de provence well.

                           
Step five: In a small dish wisk two tablespoons olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Dress the romaine lettuce with the mixture.

Step six: Place the roasted vegetables, parsnips, leeks and goat cheese mixture on top of the romaine lettuce.
Optional: Season with salt and pepper.

For the side: Slice (store bought) polenta into thin (approx. 1/4 inch) slices, brush with olive oil, place in pyrex dish and bake in oven for 25 minutes (I buy the garlic-basil polenta at whole foods).

Sunday night: Served with brown rice (cooked in vegetable broth) and brussel sprouts, which was a great combination as well.

Brussel sprouts recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped brussel sprouts
1 shallot thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cups sliced almonds
2 tablespoons of olive oil, minced

Step one: In medium pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Step two: Add shallots and almonds and saute for 7 minutes, stirring constantly.

Step three: Add brussel sprouts, cover and saute for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.