On a day when temperatures are supposed to be up near 100 degrees F, I can’t think of anything better than a dish that is cool, calm, and collected. Composed salad definitely fits that bill. An array of cooked vegetables, nicely presented and served at room temperature, it works as a do-ahead meal, if you prepare (roast and parboil) the vegetables the night before, refrigerate them, and then just take them out to bring them to room temperature before serving. For a bit of extra pizzazz, I added a few slices of goat cheese and toasted walnuts. With crusty bread or a bit of pasta, it’s a whole meal, and satisfying too.
The best thing about this salad as that every ingredient is optional – at least in the sense that you can use any combination of vegetables that appeal to you. My only guideline is that there should be enough color, shape and texture variety to make an interesting array when all are put together. (By the way, until I opened the beets, I had no idea that they were striped! Interesting color but same sweet taste, which was fine with me.) The number of servings and cost of this salad are variable, depending on what vegetables you use. My baking sheet of roasted vegetables and handful of green beans (with cheese and nuts) and made more than enough for 2 people. The total cost was $5-8.
I prefer to roast at least some of the vegetables. The roasting process intensifies flavor and roasted vegetables are excellent at room temperature. My oven is modern and miraculously does not heat up my whole house. If you don’t want to turn on the oven, you can steam or parboil the veggies instead. And of course, you can roast the red pepper on the stovetop.
Composed Vegetable, Cheese, and Toasted Nut Salad
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Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 3:08PM 
