Roasted Vegetable Salad
This cumin roasted vegetable salad is a combination of my favorite technique for cooking vegetables and a discovery of a cumin salad dressing that makes my mouth water! Crazy enough, I discovered cumin salad dressing at a restaurant here in Sacramento a few years before we even moved here!
I’m wholeheartedly convinced that roasting is the easiest and most delicious way to get your needed daily dose of vegetables (and then some!). I’ve roasted butternut squash haves, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower for quite a few family dinners at my mom’s house.
Every time, I find a new convert who wants my recipe or who brings me the veggies the next time I’m home to whip up another batch. I share how easy it is to roast all vegetables with them and then smile that I’m turning more people into vegetable lovers. I’m still waiting to roast radishes for the not-so-much-veggie-lovers in my family, but I think that day will come!
This roasted vegetable salad is a favorite way to enjoy roasted veggies (especially rainbow carrots) and that kind of addictive cumin dressing…
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Cumin Roasted Vegetable Salad
My mom took me to her new favorite Mexican restaurant in downtown Sacramento a few years ago on one of my visits home. It’s called Zocalo. Everything I’ve had on that fateful day and since is so delicious. Their burritos are fun; I can’t get enough of their spicy black bean dip served with the chips; and then there’s their famous blackberry margaritas!
But on that first visit, I picked the pepita salad with grilled shrimp…and their cumin salad dressing. Leftover roasted vegetables have been in my salad toppings arsenal for a while. I love the earthier flavor they add as well as the variety in consistency to raw veggies. Not to mention it’s a great way to use up leftovers (instead of throwing them away)!
For this cumin roasted vegetable salad though I use cumin. Cumin is probably my favorite seasoning! It’s great for any Mexican dishes and a go-to on any chicken we make at home. For the dried oregano, you’ll want to rub the herbs between your fingers before adding it to the veggies to release their maximum flavor.
Coriander Salad Dressing
With all this flavor in the veggies and toppings, you can keep the dressing light and simple. Add some favorite seasonings to good quality olive oil for the most delicious salad dressing.
Enjoy this salad with the vegetables warm or cold. You can easily add any kind of protein to this salad to make it a heartier meal or pair it with chicken street tacos or this decadently delicious looking birria recipe! It’s great on a variety of these summer salad recipes as well.
ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD
Ingredients
- 4 medium carrots sliced into spears/halves (heirloom carrots used here)
- 1 medium red orange, or yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- cherry tomatoes
- 1 avocado
- ¼ Cup roasted salted pepita seeds
- ¼ Cup dried cranberries
- cilantro
- 4-6 Cups lettuce/chopped kale salad mix
dressing
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lime juice approx. 2 small limes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine carrots, peppers, olive oil, salt, cumin, and oregano. Roast 30-35 minutes until tender. With ten minutes remaining, add cherry tomatoes to roasting pan.
- Meanwhile, slice avocado and combine dressing ingredients. Toss lettuce/kale mix with salad dressing. Place in bowls.
- Top salad with roasted carrots, peppers, and cherry tomatoes. Top with avocado slices, seeds, dried cranberries, and cilantro.
