Fall Harvest Salad with Fig Vinaigrette
To have a seasonal harvest salad means to have what’s available to you this season, whatever that may be. This is one of those dishes you can recreate and make your own any time of the year with whatever produce you have available to you.
Take Summer and Spring for example, you can do roasted zucchini, tomatoes and corn. Spring can inspire fruits to grill like peaches and green beans. It all falls under the basics of roasting the vegetables to make them the star of the salad.
This Fall/Winter season I am preparing this salad with sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts and shallots. (not for nothing but most likely you’ll have all these left over from thanksgiving dinner!) I also give you an alternate option of butternut squash, broccoli and red onion to show you that no matter which veggies you choose, you truly can not go wrong.
Why can’t you go wrong? Because if you pair the roasted vegetables (whichever they may be) with fresh greens and the most amazing fig jam vinaigrette, this salad is sure to be a hit! Hints of sweet and a hint of salty from the blue cheese along with the nuts you choose to add, will compliment the salad beautifully.
Here is how I made my version of this Fall Harvest Salad with Fig Vinaigrette:
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Start by lining a large baking sheet with aluminum foil (easy clean up!). Thinly slice the shallots, arrange them on one side of the baking sheet.
Continue by trimming the bottoms of the brussel sprouts and peel away any bruised leaves.
Cut the smaller brussel sprouts in half and quarter the larger ones so they are all similar in size. Transfer the brussels to the sheet pan and lay them next to the shallots without combining them.
Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1′ cubes. Add the sweet potatoes next to the brussel sprouts.
Tip! Try to keep all the vegetables around the same size so they can cook evenly around the same time.
Season all the vegetables with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Tip! Be generous with the seasoning. Roasting is the best time to bring out the flavor of the vegetables.
Bake the vegetables for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes are done, stir them around to let some steam escape. Add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the shallots and let the vegetables cook for 10 more minutes.
After the 10 minutes have passed, make sure all the vegetables are cooked through and allow them to cool completely before adding them to the salad.
Tip! Adding the vegetables while they are still hot or warm will wilt the greens immediately.
For the dressing:
In a mason jar or any container with a tight lid, add good quality extra virgin olive oil, the rest of the balsamic vinegar, the fig jam, dijon mustard, crushed garlic, salt and pepper.
Close the jar tight and shake it until the mixture becomes smooth and all the ingredients are emulsified.
Tip! DO NOT throw out the fig jam jar! Instead reuse the jar by mixing the vinaigrette in it when there is only a bit of the jam left!
To assemble the salad:
On a large serving platter, evenly arrange the greens on the bottom of the serving plate. Add the cooled roasted vegetables and spread them evenly throughout the greens. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and blue cheese crumbles all throughout the salad.
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad if you prefer to dress the entire thing, or drizzle the vinaigrette to each individual serving to avoid the rest of the salad from wilting.
Tip! The oil and vinegar tend to separate easily and the jam can float to the bottom of the jar, so shake the vinaigrette again before adding it to the salad.
Equipment
- Large baking sheet
- Jar with tight lid for vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 1/2 cups baby kale
- 1 1/2 cups spring mix
- 4 shallots about 1 cup sliced
- 2 cups brussel sprouts halfed
- 1 large sweet potato about 2 cups cut into chunks
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup lightly salted pumpkin seeds
- cooking extra virgin olive oil about 3 tablespoons
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fig jam
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 large garlic clove or 2 small ones
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Start by lining a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Thinly slice the shallots, arrange them on one side of the baking sheet.
- Continue by trimming the bottoms of the brussel sprouts and peel away any bruised leaves. Cut the smaller brussels sprouts in half and quarter the larger ones so they are all similar in size.
- Transfer the brussels to the sheet pan and lay them next to the shallots without combining them.
- Peel the sweet potato into 1' cubes. Place them next to the brussel sprouts again, without mixing them into the other veggies.
- Season with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Bake the vegetables for 20 minutes.
- After the 20 minutes are done, stir them around to let some steam escape. Add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the shallots and let the vegetables cook for 10 more minutes.
- After the 10 minutes have passed, make sure all the vegetables are cooked through and allow them to cool completely before adding them to the salad.
For the vinaigrette:
- In a mason jar or any container with a tight lid, add the good quality extra virgin olive oil, the rest of the balsamic vinegar, the fig jam, dijon mustard, crushed garlic, salt and pepper.
- Close the jar tight and shake it until the mixture becomes smooth and all the ingredients are emulsified.
To assemble the salad:
- In a large serving platter, evenly arrange the greens on the bottom of the serving plate. Add the cooled roasted vegetables and spread them evenly throughout the greens.
- Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and blue cheese crumbles all throughout the salad.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad if you prefer to dress the entire salad, or drizzle to each individual serving to avoid the rest od the salad from wilting.