salad for a crowd
POSTED ON March 26, 2012
arugula roasted root veg salad with toasted walnuts and mustard dressing
This salad is a perfect way to use up the odd root vegetable or few that may be lying around your kitchen or fridge drawer. I’ve used red and gold beets, carrots and sweet potatoes here but winter squash, parsnip and turnips work really well too. As the title suggests this is also a great salad to serve a crowd — it’s not too delicate to sit dressed as people make their way to the table.
gold and red beets, carrots and sweet potatoes
The amounts here serve about 40 people as a side salad and about 20 as a starter. If you’re not serving a crowd you can keep all the components of the salad separate and eat it over the following 4 to 5 days. Hope you like it and happy spring to everyone!
trays of roasted veggies
mustard and dressing
scallions
toasted walnuts
sweet potato
roasted beets
packed and ready to transport
salad
Wild arugula salad with roasted root vegetables, walnuts and mustard dressing
I used the convection setting on my oven, which I find is great for baking and roasting anything. If you have the setting on your oven then 375 degrees is perfect. If not then set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roasted vegetables
2 medium gold beets
2 medium red beets
5 medium carrots
2 medium sweet potatoes
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Dressing
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
3 tablespoons raw cider vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
Juice of one orange
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
For the salad
2 16 oz containers of wild arugula
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 bunch scallions, finely sliced
2 cups toasted walnuts, chopped
Pre-heat oven to 375 -400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cover 3 cookie sheets or baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
Cut the beets in quarters and slice in ¼ inch slices; place on one of the baking trays. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss well and spread out over tray. Repeat with remaining vegetables, spreading them evenly over the trays. Roast for 15 minutes, stir to help the vegetables cook evenly, then roast for another 10 to 15 minutes until the veggies are starting to brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
To make the dressing, place the mustard, vinegars, salt, lemon and orange juice in a jar and shake well. Add olive oil and shake again. Set aside until you are ready to serve the salad.
Divide the arugula into 2 bowls. Toss all the roasted vegetables together and divide between the bowls of arugula. Top each bowl with parsley, scallions and toasted walnuts. Drizzle with dressing and toss well before serving.
POSTED IN Gluten free, Salads
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This is the kind of thing I’d want to make on a Sunday and snack on all week – yum!
Dear Amy,
i love your website and am excited to try this salad recipe! Would you tell me what brand of whole grain mustard that you use? I have not really found one that I like a lot and am curious about your preference.
I have enjoyed trying your recipes and exploring your website! FUN! Your recipes are so thoroughly presented and explained plus they’re delicious and nutritious! I discovered you from the Jan/12′ Martha Stewart, ‘Goodness of Healthy Delights’ article and have been a fan ever since.
Sincerely,
Sharon
Thanks so much for your lovely comment!
I used an organic whole grain dijon mustard made by Roland. I’m sure you can find a good one in your local health food store or market.
Thanks for reading!
Amy, I’m huge a sweet potato, arugula, and mustard fan, but hardly ever use them all together in a salad. We’ve got some lovely arugula in the garden now, and our local variety of sweet potato here in New Zealand, called kumara (purple skin, yellow flesh, very dense and sweet), needs a bit of taming with something spicy or acidic. I also found your website through the Martha Stewart mag – so happy, as I love your way!
I love those sweet potaotes and I’m sure they would be great in the salad too.
Thank you for reading and for commenting! Let me know how you like the salad.
I have been making your Kale and Marinated Red Cabbage with Roasted Squash and Chickpea salad every week recently (so good!) and I can’t wait to add this recipe to my rotation.
Question for you: You mention using the convect setting for this recipe; does it mean that you do not use it for other recipes such as your chocolate and cherry cookies? I have a tendency to use convect all the time and perhaps I should not.
For myself I always use convection….it’s the best! For recipes here I time them without convection, some recipes, like the cookies are the same time.
If you use convection just check on the dish or vegetables earlier, mostly they just cooks faster.
Made this for dinner tonight and was a huge success! I even had everything on hand from our weekly csa box. Another great recipe to add to our box in our quest to go fully vegetarian!
Hi Amy: Do you peel your beets prior to roasting? Thanks!
No need to peel the beets or any of the other veg.
Over the weekend I attended a family lunch and was asked to bring salad “for a crowd” so this recipe immediately popped to mind. Everyone enjoyed it and I knew it was truly a hit when I spotted my teenage nephew standing in the kitchen finishing the bowl while everyone was clearing the table 🙂
Thank you for another great recipe!