Created for LemonGold® by Ilse van der Merwe
This hearty vegetarian salad is the second recipe in a series of four that I’ve created with LemonGold®, #WhenLifeGivesYouLemons. It is a wonderful combination of umami-rich roasted aubergine and earthy sweet potato salad with a zesty lemon, mint and garlic dressing, served with fresh rocket leaves on a bed of hummus and/or labneh, topped with slivers of red onion and toasted pine nuts. I can eat this every day of the week for lunch or dinner, but it is also such a stunning salad to serve as part of a bigger festive spread with fish or chicken or a scrumptious lamb roast.
Cooking can bring so much joy into our lives, especially if it is stress-free and simple with big flavour results. This is one of those recipes – so very easy to make, but really packing a punch in terms of flavour and comfort. LemonGold® lemons are very juicy seedless lemons, making them a joy to cook with. You will need one LemonGold® lemon to make this zippy, minty dressing. Along with the extra virgin olive oil it gets absorbed into the cooked vegetables, contrasting with the creamy hummus, crunchy pine nuts and peppery rocket leaves – an ode to my adoration for Yotam Ottolenghi’s style of serving roasted salads on a bed of hummus or yoghurt.
Serves: 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main meal
Ingredients:
Method:
To assemble:
On a large plate or salad platter, swirl a thin layer of hummus/labneh/yoghurt (or combo) and top with some rocket leaves. Now arrange the dressed roasted vegetables on top, adding more rocket leaves, fresh mint leaves, slivers of red onion and toasted pine nuts. Spoon the remaining dressing over the salad and serve immediately.
Note: This salad is best served slightly warm or at room temperature, assembled right before serving. The vegetables can be roasted and marinated in the dressing ahead of time.