Composed Salad of Roasted Broccoli, Romaine, Chickpeas and Walnuts

Went to Stiles Vegetable Farm to get their last picks of the season. My mom and I ended up getting a bargain: a whole basket of squash for $5! So I thought I would try a spaghetti squash recipe. I've always found it amazing how God made spaghetti squash. It's incredible... after you cook it, cut it in half and just fork through it and you have what looks like noodles! What an awesome Creator! We got home, unloaded the vegetables, and I began searching through my mass amount of recipes. I found this recipe for Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato "spaghetti" from Vegetarian Times. I was very disappointed with it. The recipe is currently in the garbage next to a dead spider I crushed and some used kleenx. Spaghetti squash is my least favorite squash. I may try it again with a different recipe. But never this one again. Luckily I made a delicious salad that everyone enjoyed! First time making a salad with roasted veggies in it. Yum!! After I began preparing the dinner, I realized both recipes called for chickpeas. So I substituted black beans in the squash recipe. 

Composed Salad of Roasted Broccoli, Romaine, chickpeas, and Walnuts (From Martha Stewart Living)

For the broccoli

  2 small heads broccoli, trimmed & cut into large florets

  3 T. EVOO

    coarse salt & fresh cracked pepper

For the chickpeas

  2 T. EVOO

  1 shallot, thinly sliced (I used onion)

  1 can (15-oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

  coarse salt

  1 t. sherry vinegar (I used rice wine)

For the goat cheese puree (I omitted)

  1/2 C. (3 1/2-4 oz.)fresh goat cheese

  2 T. water

  2 T. EVOO

  1 T. sherry vinegar

For the vinaigrette 

  2 T. dijon mustard

  1 T. plus 1 t. sherry vinegar (or rice)

  1/2 t. honey (or for vegan, agave nectar)

  1/2 t. coarse salt

  1/4 C. EVOO

For the assembly

  1 head romaine lettuce (or 2 hearts any lettuce), leaves separated  

  candied walnuts (recipe follows) or 1 c. toasted nuts

To make broccoli, preheat oven to 450° Toss broccoli with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until broccoli begins to soften and brown, about 15 minutes. 

To make the chickpeas, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot, and cook, stirring until translucent, 5 minutes. Stir in chickpeas, and season with salt. Cook for 1 minute. Add vinegar, and cook until liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute.

To make the goat cheese puree (if making), combine all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth, scraping down sides once. Puree can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.

To make the vinaigrette, in a small bowl, whisk (or in a mason jar, shake) together mustard, vinegar, honey (or agave) and salt. Pour in oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until emulsified. 

To assemble, Toss broccoli with 2 T. vinaigrette, and toss romaine with 2 T. vinaigrette. Arrange on a platter with chickpeas and walnuts. Serve with puree and additional vinaigrette on side.

Candied Walnuts

 makes 1 cup

1 C. walnut halves

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 T. honey (or agave nectar)

1 T. plus 1 t. fresh lemon juice

1/4 t. coarse salt

1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven 400°. Combine all ingredients on a rimmed baking sheet, and spread out mixture. Roast, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

 My whole family loved the salad. It was definitely a delicious change. When I served the salad, the broccoli, chickpeas and nuts were at room temperature. So the temperature thing wasn't weird and actually the taste of the caramelized broccoli was the best part! Give it a try and let me know how you liked it! Also, if you try it with the goat cheese I'm curious how different that makes it...

Happy Christmas shopping:) I'm almost done! Yay!!

Chef Teebs