As soon as there’s a nip in the air, you start to hear it. “Gimme all the soups, PSL, and comfort foods.” Perhaps you’re not hearing it… you’re saying it. If so, I have a new one for you, “Gimme all the hearty winter salads.” If you haven’t, you should. And here’s why.

What exactly IS a winter salad?

In a nutshell, it’s like an everyday salad, only with heartier ingredients. Think root veggies. Cheese with depth. Savory ingredients.

A winter salad is wholesome. Substantial. Strong enough to sail on its own, yet perfectly willing to tag along with the main course. In fact, I think you’ll love serving this salad whenever you may have someone at the dinner table that is drawn to more-veggies and less-meat.

It’s pretty isn’t it?

Which greens should you use?

Short answer: whatever greens you have on hand and prefer. When the weather is cooler, romaine is a good transition between the warmer days of summer and the cooler days ahead. Mixed greens such as arugula, baby spinach, or baby kale are EXCELLENT when the weather is super cool outside and you’re craving a winter salad.

If you are into wilted romaine and want to spoon all the other ingredients oh-so-beautifully over the top, then I APPLAUD YOU!

How do you make this salad?

The best thing about this salad (okay, besides the taste) is that the ingredients are sooooo easy to make ahead of time. That means you can dinner prep and toss this salad together at the last moment. As all good salad should do.

The stars of this winter salad are the hearty veggies: sweet potatoes and radishes. You’re going to roast them first. That’s right, roast!

If you’ve never roasted radishes before then I am so PUMPED FOR YOU right now! You’re going to be BLOWN AWAY! I promise! And now you’ll have one more kitchen trick up your sleeve for those roasted root veggies you do every Thanksgiving.

Sweet potatoes with a slight char, radishes that are roasted to remove the bite and bring the delight, and cherry tomatoes that pop with flavor. Oh, feta is invited too… because any good host knows to invite Mr. Cheese to dinner. Shred a bit of romaine and then toss it all with black beans and corn salsa mixed with ranch dressing and now we’re talking.

Get started!

Because I want you to have fun with your food and experiment, why not bookmark this recipe right away. Better yet, print it off and start your oven-engines!

Take time to enjoy the salads of life.

Warmly,

Lyndi

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The best hearty winter salad you’ll ever make!

Course Salad

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato peeled, cut into bite-size
• 7 radishes quartered
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup My Brothers Salsa black bean and corn salsa (see notes)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tbsp ranch dressing
• 2 heads romaine lettuce

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to bake 375 degrees.
• Place sweet potatoes and radishes on sheet pan and drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and salt. Mix. Bake for 30 minutes.
• While root vegetables are baking, combine salsa, tomatoes, feta, 2 tbsp olive oil, and ranch dressing in a medium bowl and mix.
• Add roasted sweet potatoes and rishes to mixing bowl and toss. When ready to serve, pour over romain lettuce.

Notes

If you are unable to find My Brothers Salsa black bean and corn salsa, you can substitute with 1/3 cup of salsa, 1/3 cup drained cooked black beans, and 1/3 cup drained cooked corn.

This is an updated post with updated photos and an improved recipe. Original post from 01.15.2017.

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