Roasted Summer Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

Perfect for the summer, this colorful salad is topped with soft sweet potato, crunchy roasted chickpeas, and a seed&nut crunch. Drizzle with lemon poppyseed dressing, and watch this bowl of yumminess disappear.

I don’t always love salad. Most of the time, I go for probably anything, over a bowl of greens. Lettuce on its own is quite bitter, and I’m not a huge fan of cucumbers and tomatoes. But dressed up right, leafy vegetables can be delicious. A little of this, a little of that, and all of a sudden i’m actually craving a salad!

Yes, this poppyseed dressing has sugar, and I know that goes against the whole point of eating your vegetables, but the recipe makes a whole jar of dressing, and how much are you really eating in one bowl? Not so bad in the long run, I like to think.

Some tips to get you eating more salad more often…

+ Make dressing beforehand and store in labeled glass jars in the fridge. Sometimes I do this with a couple dressings so I have variety. Just seeing them when I open the fridge to grab something reminds me to eat healthy! With your dressing + toppings already made, all you have to do when hunger calls is assemble your bowl.

+ Wash lettuce right when you get home from the grocers. Don’t put it in the fridge in a bag cause then it will never get done.

• To Wash: Soak in a bowl with a couple drops of soap for 3 minutes, rinse, and place on a towel to dry. I have a special lettuce container with a raised slated piece at the bottom for any extra water to drain, and once closed, this tight- lidded container will keep my lovely lettuce fresh for weeks! It’s amazing really.

+ Pre- make toppings. Salad with a hundred different topping is always the most exciting and probably the one you want to order when eating out. Why not make those most-loved at home? My favorite is cubed roasted sweet potato, and I make tons of the stuff and have a ready topping for every lunch(i’m not gonna lie and say I actually eat a salad every day for lunch, but I would like to!).

• The roasted seeds in this recipe double as a great yogurt topping, and I store them in an air tight container in the cabinet. Crumbled cheeses- feta and Bulgarian are my faves- are also great toppings, and require no work on your part. Grab some fresh olives and purple onion, pre- make your Greek dressing, and you have salad variety for the week!

If you want the perfect brunch, serve this salad alongside Salmon Gravlax, a cheese+bagel board, and finish with these Buttery Nutella Cookies.

Roasted Summer Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

Estee

This salad will have you loving your greens.

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Ingredients

  

Roasted Sweet Potato

• 1 sweet potato peeled and cubed
• 2 Tbs Oil
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Roasted Chickpeas

• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt

Candied Seed Crunch

• 1/3 cup pecans
• 2/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 Tbs. date honey(silan)

Salad

• Bag mixed greens/ romaine lettuce
• 1/2- 1 cup assorted rainbow tomatoes- plum, cherry, yellow, orange

Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 2 Tbs. onion flakes
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. Black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup Oil
• 1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Instructions

 

Roasted Sweet Potato

• Drizzle sweet potato cubes with oil and salt, mix. Place in oven at 175c. Mix often- they're finished when they are soft when poked with a fork.

Roasted Chickpeas

• Toss chickpeas with seasoning and place in oven with sweet potato for about 15-20 min, or until just crunchy.

Candied Seed Crunch

• Place seeds and nuts on a baking sheet and drizzle with date honey. Place in oven and mix every 5 minutes- once hot the honey will be able to coat everything. Be careful not to burn these- the honey will harden a bit once cooled. Allow to cool and break into chunks. Store in a airtight container in pantry.

Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

• Place all ingredients except poppy seeds in the food processor and blend until onion flakes are very small. Add in poppy seeds and pulse to combine. Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks- it usually gets finished before that!

Assemble Salad

• Cut up greens and tomatoes and toss with desired amount of dressing right before serving. Pour sweet potatoes and chickpeas and lightly toss so most still remain on top of salad. Sprinkle with seed crunch, creating a mound in the center of your serving bowl. Enjoy!

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