Tender roasted sweet potato cubes with roasted zucchini, toasted pine nuts, peppery arugula and radicchio, protein packed lentils and crumbled Greek feta, all topped with a creamy pesto dressing. This wholesome salad is perfect for lunch or dinner and is great to meal prep.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time50 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr10 minutesmins
Course: Mains, Salads, Sides
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free
Keyword: brown lentil, roasted sweet potato, salad, zucchini
600gramssweet potatopeeled and cut into small cubes
1teaspoononion powder
½teaspoongarlic powder
½teaspoonsea salt flakes
2tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
Zucchini
1largezucchinicut into thin rounds (330g)
1tablespoonolive oilextra virgin
½teaspoonsea salt
cracked black pepperto taste
Pesto Salad Dressing
1cupfresh basil
¼cupolive oilextra virgin
¼cuppine nuts
1clovegarlic
¼cupgrated parmesan
2tablespoonslemon juice
1teaspoonwhite wine vinegar
Sea salt
To serve
150gramsarugula
1cupradicchiofinely sliced
400gramsbrown lentilscanned, strained
150gramsGreek feta
¼cuppine nutstoasted
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
To make the 600 grams sweet potato, add the sweet potato cubes to a parchment paper lined baking tray. Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over the top and toss to combine. Place into the oven to roast for 50 minutes or until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Set aside.
Meanwhile, for the 1 large zucchini, add the thinly sliced zucchini rounds to a second baking paper lined tray and season with the ½ teaspoon sea salt and cracked black pepper. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and then toss to coat evenly before spreading them out across the base of the tray so that the zucchini rounds aren’t overlapping. Place into the oven and roast for 40 minutes. Once roasted, remove from the oven and set aside.
To toast the pine nuts, add them to a small baking tray and place into the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the tray to toss the pine nuts and then place back into the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a small dish, to prevent them from burning in the pan.
To make the pesto dressing add the 1 cup fresh basil, 1 clove garlic, ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup pine nuts, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, ¼ cup grated parmesan and Sea salt to a food processor and pulse to combine. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the food processor and process on medium until you reach your desired consistency.
To assemble the salad, add the roasted sweet potato and zucchini to a large bowl along with the 150 grams arugula, 400 grams brown lentils, 1 cup radicchio, and ¼ cup pine nuts. Top with crumbled 150 grams Greek feta and toss to combine. Serve drizzle in the pesto dressing.
Notes
Nutrition facts are an estimate only.
Storage
Store in the salad bowl covered with cling wrap or a beeswax wrap, or store in an airtight container, in the fridge. If meal prepping, store in individual serving sized airtight containers in the fridge.