The Garden & Saucier
Roasted Veggie Salad with Quinoa
The Strategy:
Proof that a meat-free meal can still command the center of the table. Roasting the butternut squash, carrots, and parsnips until their edges caramelize turns humble vegetables into something deep and almost sweet, while nutty quinoa, fresh basil, and toasted pine nuts make it a genuine main course. A simple lemon-butter, spooned on in two stages, ties the whole warm, golden bowl together.
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes, about 3 to 4 cups
- 6 to 8 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, about 2 to 3 cups
- 6 to 8 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, about 2 ½ to 3 cups
- 2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges, about 2 cups
- 10 to 12 baby portobello mushrooms, stemmed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ½ cup butter, melted, 1 stick
- juice of 1 lemon, about 3 tablespoons
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
- 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved, about 1 cup
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°.
- Place the butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, onion wedges, and mushrooms onto a baking sheet.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir the melted butter and lemon juice together in a bowl. Pour half of this onto the vegetables. Toss to coat.
- Roast the veggies until they begin to turn golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Place the veggies into a large bowl.
- Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the quinoa into the bowl. Toss in the basil, Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts.
- Pour in remaining lemon-butter sauce.
- Toss and serve warm or at room temperature.
Thing to Note:
This is a yummy main course salad on a day when you’re craving a meat-free meal. You can absolutely change out the veggies for anything you have in your fridge and substitute with your favorite herbs and nuts. You can even change out the quinoa for orzo pasta. It all works!
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The Heart of the Table
This is the salad I make when the garden is generous and the table is full — a big, golden bowl that lands in the middle and disappears whether or not there is meat in sight. There is something deeply satisfying about coaxing so much flavor out of a pan of roasted roots, and because it is just as good at room temperature, it is a gift to any host: make it ahead, set it out, and let it hold court while you tend to everything else.
Neighborly Grace
- THE PRESENTATION: Serve this in your widest, shallowest bowl so the color does the decorating — the burnished squash, the flecks of green basil, the pale shaved Parmesan. A scatter of extra toasted pine nuts and a few whole basil leaves across the top just before serving makes it look like you fussed far more than you did.
- THE POUR: An earthy, autumnal bowl like this wants a wine with a little weight — a lightly oaked Chardonnay or a soft Pinot Noir for the grown-ups. For the table at large, a sparkling apple cider over ice picks up the sweetness of the roasted roots.
- THE VIBE: Harvest-table warm and generous — the kind of unhurried gathering where the good bowl comes out, the light turns golden, and no one minds going back for seconds.
