Paleo · Salad · vegetarian

Roasted Veggie Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

Colleen

Sometimes, you just need a kick in the butt to get motivated. I haven’t been up-and-at-’em when it comes to cooking lately, and I’ve been slacking on my healthy habits.

No more.

It’s time to take 2017 by the horns and make it our bi—oh, well you get the gist.

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In a fit of passion, I made a stop at the grocery store today and perused the vegetable aisle. One good thing about living in/near the barrio is all of the fine Mexican produce. Calabacitas? Check. Tamarind rinds? Why not. Endless supply of mango and papaya? Heck yes! 27 different types of peppers?!? Oh, heaven, get me out of here before I blow an entire paycheck.

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I already knew I wanted to roast some veggies for my lunches this week. I just didn’t know which to choose from. Sweet potatoes made it into my cart, along with a bag of baby sweet peppers, two calabacitas (a Mexican squash that’s a cross between a yellow summer squash and a zucchini), and a red onion. Perfect! All I needed was a bag of spinach and I was on my way.

I roasted these veggies with a simple seasoning mix of salt, pepper, and chipotle chili powder. The CPP packs a punch, so it paired extremely well with all of the sweet vegetables on my roasting pan. You can serve these tender, charred veggies either by themselves or on top of a simple salad like I made below. The most important part, though, is to have fun! Choose which veggies you like and take a risk. You never know what deliciousness might await you.

Roasted Veggie Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Print

Charred & roasted sweet veggies mingle with a lemon-tahini dressing perfect for a lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
  • 2 calabacitas (or zucchini), sliced
  • 1 red onion, quartered
  • 2 cups sweet baby peppers, sliced in half
  • 2-3 TBS. olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 TBS. olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • baby spinach or spring mix, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss sweet potato cubes, squash slices, red onion and sweet peppers with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Lay veggies on a rimmed baking sheet, trying to fit into one layer.
  2. Sprinkle salt, pepper and chipotle chili powder over the top of the veggies. Toss again until everything is well coated.
  3. Roast veggies for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until lightly charred and sweet potatoes are tender when pricked with a fork. Let rest for 10 minutes before building the salad.
  4. Make the lemon-tahini dressing: in a large bowl, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic until well combined. Add more water if mixture isn’t thin enough to be dressing.
  5. Build your salad: make a layer of spinach and then pile roasted veggies in the middle. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of dressing over the top. Serve.

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Don’t know what tahini is? Don’t worry, I didn’t either—until a few months ago. It’s basically like peanut butter, if peanut butter was made of sesame seeds instead of peanuts. It’s amazingly tasty, and works beautifully in a dressing. You can find it at most major grocery stores.

(PS—No step-by-step instructions today, guys. I didn’t take very many pictures, and I was busy trying to make a Snapchat story of this recipe. It’ll be back soon, I swear!)

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Published by Colleen

I'm a photojournalist for a local television station in OKC and love to cook (obviously). I'm four years removed from college (BA in Mass Communication) and I'm just trying to guide through my mid-twenties with a relative ease. We'll see how this goes!

14 thoughts on “Roasted Veggie Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing”

    1. I absolutely agree! A nutritionist I interviewed even said it is the BEST tasting thing you can do with vegetables. It makes sweet veggies sweeter & it makes cauliflower taste heaven sent!

      Reply

    1. You really have to keep an eye peeled. I’m mainly using root veggies this time of year but every so often I’ll find some good green veg.

      Can’t wait until Spring, though!

      Reply

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