I love this bright and healthy winter vegetable salad. Roasting all the root veggies in olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper caramelizes them and gives so much flavor. This salad combines roasted beets, butternut squash, fennel, and carrots with fresh kale and shallots in a delicious balsamic mustard dressing. It is a great way to get lots of veggies into your winter diet.
The nice thing about this salad is you can roast the vegetables ahead of time and they will keep at room temp for a few hours or in the fridge for a few days and you can bring them back to room temp before serving. The dressing is a simple combination of olive oil, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. I added some shaved parmesan to the top, or you could also add some toasted bread cubes to make a winter panzanella too. Some toasted pistachios or almonds would be good on this too.
Winter Vegetable Salad with Balsamic Mustard Dressing
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 large carrots cut into large pieces
- 4 beets scrubbed and peeled and cut into large pieces
- 2 fennel bulbs cut into large pieces
- 2 cup butternut squash cut into 1 inch squares
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 cups kale washed and cut into small pieces
- chopped parsley
- 1 apple thinly sliced (optional)
- shaved parmesan optional
- a few tbsp olive oil
- a few tbsp balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
For the dressing:
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
For the roasted veggies:
- Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. Heat the oven to 400. Combine the beets, squash, carrots and fennel on the baking sheet and toss with the oil, balsamic, salt and pepper.
- Roast for 30 minutes and then stir and flip. Roast another 10-15 minutes or until the veggies are nicely caramelized and browned.
For the dressing:
- Combine the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until it comes together.
For the salad:
- Place the kale in a large bowl and add the roasted veggies and shallots. Drizzle over some dressing to taste and toss well. Top with parm, roasted nuts, bread cubes etc if desired.
One thought on “Winter Vegetable Salad with Balsamic Mustard Dressing”