Every time I see a picture of a harvest salad, I think to myself – I want to eat that immediately! Then, I started looking for a recipe I wanted to try, and every one had an ingredient that I didn’t care for. Beets? Fennel? Blue Cheese? Avocado? No thanks, and some of those things aren’t very harvest-y! So. I decided to take pieces from a few different recipes and create my own. This has truly become my favorite part of cooking – seeing what I can invent myself! Even if you think you’re a horrible cook, the more you cook and try new recipes, the more you start to pick up on different tips and tricks – I promise. If you ever meet Tim (my dad) ask him about my overcooked chicken drowned in teriyaki sauce and how I existed on mac and cheese for most of my childhood.

HARVEST SALAD

This salad is kind of a labor of love, which you would never know because this post is so short, but so worth it! To save time, I didn’t peel anything (just washed everything well) and used some ingredients I already had. This salad is easily adjusted depending on how many people are eating and if you don’t like an ingredient, you can take it out and substitute something else! This is also a great option for any vegetarians in your life.

I got my inspiration from the recipes of Jamie Oliver, Two Peas and their Pod,and Half Baked Harvest.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of Kale, 1/2 roasted crispy and 1/2  left raw
• 3/4 cup Brussels Sprouts, trimmed
• 1 Sweet Potato, diced and roasted
• 1 Yam, diced and roasted
• 1 Acorn Squash, sliced and roasted
• 1 Pomegranate, seeded
• 1-2 Tbsp of Goat cheese (depending on how many people are eating)
• 1-2 Tbsp of Pistachios (depending on how many people are eating)
• Olive Oil and seasoning for roasting (I used a pinch of Italian Seasoning)

Dressing

• 2-3 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 5-6 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 Shallot, diced

First, I got to chopping! I chopped the sweet potato, yam, brussels sprouts, acorn squash and the kale. 

Then, I roasted everything up! I failed on taking a picture of the kale, but please refer to my snacks post – it was basically the same. I roasted half the kale to crispy status and saved the other half to eat raw. I roasted everything with olive oil + pinch of Italian seasoning I had in my spice drawer.

Roasting tip – Put similar vegetables on the same pan! That way, you can put everything in the oven at once and once something is done (the pan of brussels sprouts finished first) you can take that one out and leave the rest until they are done! 

Once the vegetables were roasted, it was salad assembly time! I added some of the dressing with the raw kale as a base for the salad and then mixed together the sweet potato, yam, brussels sprouts in a bowl with a little more dressing to pile on top.

I sprinkled the goat cheese, pomegranate seeds and crispy kale on top last.

I loved creating this salad and am already planning on bringing it to my next holiday party! What are your favorite ingredients that you would add to a harvest salad? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Holiday Cooking!

Libby

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