Spice-Roasted Vegetables with Haloumi & a Cilantro-Chile Dressing

This colorful salad is a feast for the eyes. Full of veggie goodness, the sweetness and spice are beautifully balanced with the fresh dressing that has a slight kick to round things out.

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS

• 2 parsnips

• 2 beets

  Food for Sharing: Love and Spices from an Immigrant Kitchen Ashia Ismail-Singer

• 2 sweet potatoes

• 3 carrots

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp ground coriander

• ½ tsp garam masala

• salt and ground black pepper

• 7 oz (200 g) haloumi or paneer

• neutral oil, for frying

• fresh lettuce leaves 

For the cilantro-chile dressing

• ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

• juice of ½ lemon

• 2 tsp honey

• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 1 tsp chile flakes

• salt and ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS 

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Peel and chop vegetables into ¾ in (2 cm) chunks. Place in a large baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, spices, salt and pepper. Drizzle over the vegetables, coating them well. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes until cooked and golden. Meanwhile, thinly slice the haloumi and pat dry with paper towels. Heat a lightly oiled nonstick frying pan over medium heat and cook the haloumi until golden on both sides. Set aside to cool. Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a small blender, blend, and season with salt and pepper. You can add a dash more salt, lemon juice or chile according to your taste. Once vegetables are cooked, cool to room temperature then assemble your salad. Place the lettuce leaves in a large dish with the roasted vegetables and mix gently. Scatter haloumi on top and drizzle with the dressing.

Recipe by Ashia Ismail-Singer, excerpted from Food For Sharing: Love and Spices from an Immigrant Kitchen, published by Interlink Publishing 

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