Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea and Squash Salad with Creamy Honey Dijon
I’m not able to do this every week, but on Mondays while my older kids are at school and my baby is napping, I like to cook a healthy lunch that I can continue to eat for the rest of the week. A few weeks ago I started craving a salad of roasted chickpeas and cauliflower over some greens. When I went to buy these ingredients at the store, I saw some kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) and knew that this had to be roasted alongside the cauliflower and chickpeas.
I added cucumbers and cilantro to give the salad a crisp and freshness. Feta and avocado are simply a must for any salad of mine. I paired this with a home-made creamy honey Dijon vinaigrette dressing. This salad makes approximately 3-4 servings, so if you are like me, you can enjoy this salad for lunches most of the week!
Cooking tips: When I roast vegetables in the oven with olive oil, I purposely roast them at 350 F because it’s just below the smoke point of olive oil. This prevents the oil from going rancid and ruining the flavor of the veggies cocking in it. I also roast them on parchment paper for an easy clean up!
Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 butternut squash (or half of a kabocha if you live in Japan), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 avocado, sliced
1 English cucumber, sliced or chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
10 - 15 oz mixed salad greens
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Dressing Ingredients:
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp Full fat plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp honey
1 lemon, juice of
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare the veggies to be roasted. Chop the cauliflower head into small florets. Peal, de-seed, and dice the butternut squash; drain and rinse the can of chickpeas; and mince the garlic.
On a rimmed baking sheet, spread out the cauliflower, chickpeas, butternut squash and garlic. Drizzle on olive oil and shake on the chili powder and paprika, salt and pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until tender and lightly charred.
While the veggies are roasting, prepare the remainder of the salad fixings (cucumber, cilantro, avocado & feta). Combine the cucumber and the cilantro in a large salad bowl with mixed greens.
To make the dressing, whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Adjust lemon juice, salt, pepper and honey to taste.
Toss the roasted cauliflower, butternut squash and chickpeas in with the salad. Top the salad with avocado and feta cheese. Add the vinaigrette just before serving.