warm root vegetable salad

I don’t know if I mentioned this on the blog or not, but last year my husband and I did the whole 30. It was a challenging and gratifying month of finding new and healthier ways to enjoy cooking and food. And if for no other reason I am thankful we did it because we found this salad. This was our go-to meal during whole 30 and is still one of our favorites. SO good and satisfying. Obviously, during our whole 30 we didn’t add the goat cheese, but it is an excellent addition. Also, a note on beetroot- I blame things like canned beets at grandma’s house and Dwight Schrute for the bad name that the beets get, but please please please try it in this salad! It adds such depth and sweetness, and will change your mind about beets.

Warm Root Vegetable Salad

Ingredients
1 medium sweet potato
1 medium onion (purple or yellow)
1 medium (raw) beet
3-4 red potatoes
2-3 carrots
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup brown mushrooms
1-2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS fresh rosemary
2 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup goat cheese (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the sweet potato, onion, beet, mushrooms and potatoes into large pieces. Slice carrots into match sticks. Leave tomatoes whole. Combine all veggies in a large bowl and pour olive oil and herbs over veggies. Toss to combine. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread veggies evenly onto the sheet (they should NOT be too crowded, should be a single layer of veggies, if you need to, divide onto 2 cookie sheets) Salt and pepper the veggies. Cook at 400 for 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked thoroughly and veggies are beginning to brown. Meanwhile, roughly chop the walnuts and toast in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Remove the salad from the oven and transfer to plates. Sprinkle with walnuts, and large dollops of goat cheese. Serve warm.