Roasted Vegetable Salad with Pesto and Homemade Croutons

This recipe can be varied in many ways and this version is just a starting point. This salad is great served for dinner or lunch or, as we had it, on the go!

Ingredients (Makes about 4 salads):

1 small eggplant cubed

~20 asparagus spears

1 cup chopped roasted red/yellow peppers (homemade or jarred from Trader Joe's!)

2 zucchini chopped

1 medium red onion chopped

4 Tbs. Pesto (recipe to come)

3/4 cup feta

2 medium tomatoes chopped

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

4 cups chopped spinach (chopped in ribbons)

4 slices of whole wheat bread cubed in large pieces

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 ripe avocado, sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

2. On a baking sheet combine the cut zucchini, red onion, eggplant, and asparagus with about 2 Tbs. olive oil, about 1/2 Tbs. salt and black pepper. Add a sprinkling of garlic powder and toss it all together.

3. For the veggies: Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables are lightly golden and tender (but not mushy). Sometimes eggplant cooks faster so you may want to do the eggplant on a separate sheet and remove from the oven earlier.

4. For the croutons: Toss the cubed breadwith olive oil, salt, pepper, and the crushed garlic clove.

5. Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake in the oven 10 minutes checkin' every few minutes and giving them a quick shack. You want them to be golden and toasty so about 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

6. To assemble: On each of 4 plates or salad bowls, start with 1 cup of the chopped spinach. Add 1/4 of the chopped roasted red peppers to each. Next, add 1/4 of the roasted veggies (zucchini, asparagus, onion, and eggplant) to each. Next add 1 Tbs. of pesto and about 2 Tbs. of feta to each salad. Next, add the 1/4 of the diced tomatoes to each salad and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 of the sliced avocado to each salad and top with the homemade croutons!

Feel free to vary it up with different seasonal veggies such as roasted butternut squash, arugula, and goat cheese! mmm...

Difficulty?

Kelly Kut Rating: Minor injuries from vegetable cutting but otherwise simple and blood free!

Taste? 
This salad garnered 9,000 mmmmm-gasms. The only issue for me was the eggplant...I didn't fancy the chewiness of it. Otherwise, the flavor profile was very nice with bursts of different vegetable flavors--a bit of zucchini in one bite and then waves of pesto with red pepper...YUM. (The orgasmic noises had to actually be restrained as I was eating the salad while attending a student forum on the "Smart Choices" food labeling. This was indeed a challenge!)

Looks?

Stephanie's Hotty Hot Hotness Rating: The artistic curvature of avocado slices atop the thick and juicy chunks of colorful roasted vegetables pleases the eye. The flavor combination of the various vegetables and garlicky pesto flavors, and the texture brought by the croutons please the tongue!