Warm Roasted Winter Vegetable Salad with Garlic and Orange Dressing

                What happens when you join a CSA?  Well, you get lots of delicious vegetables.  And in my case, these are delivered to me with a text message, in case I am not there.  So the items that were in my delivery this week included kohlrabi, turnips with greens, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, oranges, key limes, English pea shoots, and homemade apple butter.  Can you say “YUM”?

                First of all, I did not know what the shoots were and had to ask.  Chris, a friend, and I had all tasted them and could not identify what they were, other than wonderful and crispy.  Since I tend to crave green, crispy salads this time of year, I decided to roast some of the root vegetables and cauliflower.  Served warm on a bed of pea shoots really hit the spot.
 Try to keep everything sliced about the same thickness.  When I cut up the cauliflower I split the head down the middle and then cut it into even slices.  Avoid cutting it into flowerets because these will be uneven.   You can use any type of dressing that you like but I made one from the garlic cloves that were roasted.  I cut up enough vegetables to fill two jelly roll pans and this makes enough to feed four when served as a salad or two as a main dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two jelly roll pans with foil

1 pound of Turnips, peeled and sliced

1 head of Purple Cauliflower, leaves removed and sliced

2 medium Kohlrabi, leaves removed, peeled and sliced

1 medium Onion, peeled and sliced

1 head of Garlic, peeled but leave cloves whole

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

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1 large Orange, zested and then peeled with a knife from the stem down to remove rind and pith; then slice crosswise

1 bunch of English Pea Shoots, washed, cleaned, and chopped

Put all of the sliced turnips, cauliflower, onion, kohlrabi, and garlic in large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Use very clean hands to toss until coated.  Divide and spread over two pans.  Place in oven and bake until everything is tender.  Once the vegetables have cooked, carefully remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes.   

Dressing

In a small blender, add ¼ cup of vinegar, ½ cup of olive oil, all of the roasted garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon of Thyme, 1 Tablespoon of orange zest.  Blend until combined and smooth.  Add salt and pepper as needed.

To Plate,

Place a large serving of shoots on the plates. Divide orange slices between the plates and then add the warm roasted vegetables.  Drizzle with dressing.

Enjoy!

Deloris