Farmers Market Salad
Get all the very best local and seasonal produce at your farmers market and create your very own farmers-market-salad-adventure! I’m gonna walk ya through just how to do so!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Roasted Baby Butternut Squash
- 3 baby butternut squashes
- 2 tablespoons of melted butter olive oil, or a combo
- 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon of chili flakes
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Olive Oil Spring Onions
- 2 bunches of spring onions
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Flaky sea salt
Baby Carrots
- 1 bunch of baby carrots if using larger carrots, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Flaky sea salt
Potatoes
- 1 pound potatoes thinly sliced about 1/8 inch thick
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Flaky sea salt
Brussel Sprouts
- 1 pound of brussels sprouts trimmed and split in half
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Flaky sea salt
Radishes
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch of radishes with their tops, halved lengthwise
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Splash of white or red vinegar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon of za’atar
- Flaky sea salt
Brassicas ~ Romanesco & Cauliflower
- 3 cups dry white wine
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- 5 cups of water
- 1 lemon juiced
- Sugar
- Bay leaf
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Baby Romanesco & Cauliflower about 3 pounds total – can use full size brassicas too
Whole Roasted Garlic
- 1 of more heads of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil per head of garlic
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
Other Salad Ingredients
- ½ pound of thinly sliced radishes
- ½ pound of thinly sliced Chioggia beets any kind of beet can work + roasting them just like the potatoes is also an option
- 3 avocadoes cut in half, with olive oil, flaky sea salt and gomasio
- Handful of thinly sliced kumquats
- Lettuce
- Make a Vinaigrette!
Instructions
- For the butternut squash: preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange squash, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Brush each with butter and/or olive oil, drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili flakes. Roast until tender, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Set aside.
- For the spring onions: preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange onions in a baking dish (trim tops if needed to fit) and drizzle with olive oil, tossing onions until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30min, until bulbs are tender, and tops are golden brown. Reserve onion-infused oil to use for your salad dressing. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Set aside.
- For the carrots, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place carrots on a rimmed baking sheet, toss them with the olive oil until evenly coated and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20-30 minutes (exact timing will depend on size of carrots) until soft and beginning to caramelize. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Set aside.
- For the potatoes, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, toss them with the olive oil until evenly coated, spread them on a single layer, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them for 30-35 minutes, until golden and crispy, flipping them over once halfway through roasting. Set aside.
- For the brussels sprouts, preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Place sprouts on a rimmed baking sheet, toss them with olive oil until evenly coated, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and arrange them all cut side down. Roast for about 20 minutes, until tender on the inside, crispy on the outside and deeply browned. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Set aside.
- For the baby Romanesco & Cauliflower: preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Bring wine, olive oil, water, lemon juice, sugar, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to a boil in a large pot. Add the Romanesco and/or cauliflower, reduce heat and summer, turning occasionally for about 15-20 minutes, until fork tender. Using a slotted spoon or mesh spider, transfer Romanesco and cauliflower to a rimmed baking sheet, draining well. Roast for about 15ish minutes then finish under the broiler until your desired level of char is reached.
- For the garlic: preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Using your fingers, peel off the loose, papery outer layers around the head of garlic. Trim about ¼ - ½ inch off the top of the head to expose the garlic cloves. Place garlic head with exposed cloves on a piece aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and wrap up the foil around the garlic head. Roast for about 40minutes, until the cloves feel soft when pressed and are lightly browned. Set aside.
- For the radishes: heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering, add the radishes and season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes, until radishes are tender, and greens have wilted, add vinegar and butter. Turn off the heat, sprinkle with za’atar and flaky seas salt. Set aside.
- To assemble the salad, use a large baking sheet/tray/cutting board or platter and group each ingredient together* in a decorative manner. Sprinkle with toppings such fresh herbs, flaky sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, gomasio, seeds, nuts, and/or drizzle a little salad dressing over it all. Either with lettuce on the platter or in a bowl on the side, dressed or undressed. Serve with tongs so each guest (and yourself) can easily make their very-own-customized-farmers-market-salad-adventure. *if it’s more your jam to mix every ingredient together go right ahead and you do you. However, guests can’t make-their-very-own-farmers-market-salad-adventure as easily if each item isn’t grouped together.