Recipe: Vegetarian Warm Winter Roasted Broccolli and Radish Salad with Parmesan & Zucchini Fritters

I have recently challenged myself to cook and eat more vegetarian dishes. I have found that it has really pushed me to try new foods and take my cooking to a new level. 

Inspired by a box of organic, seasonal vegetables delivered from The Farm Supply Co, I made this warm winter salad with a base of roasted broccoli and radishes topped with zucchini and Parmesan fritters with a drizzle of roasted garlic and tomato dressing, creamy avocado and hummus and topped with mixed seeds and nuts for a crunch.

Ingredients:

Washed Fresh Baby Spinach  
Roasted Broccoli Florets
1 Roasted Carrot 
Roasted Tomatoes 
Raw Cherry Tomatoes
Roasted Radish Slices 
Raw Radish sliced finely  
Raw Grated Zucchini
Roasted Zucchini Slices
Parmesan 
1 Egg  
Flour 
Avocado (Some sliced and some made into a guacamole) 
Hummus 
Garlic Cloves
Mixed nuts and seeds  

The Salad 

1. Place broccoli, sliced radishes, one small carrot and slices of zucchini in an oven tray. 
2. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and whatever herbs you are feeling. 
3. Place tray of veggies in pre-heated 180 degree Celsius oven for about 30 minutes. 

The Sauce

1. Roast quartered tomatoes and unpeeled garlic cloves in oven for 30 minutes in pre-heated 180 degree Celsius oven. 
2. Take roasted tomatoes and place in blender, add salt and pepper, and squeeze out garlic from their skins into tomatoes sitting in blender. 
3. Blend until smooth 
4. Pass mixture through sieve to take out any bits. 
*Tip: Roast tomatoes and garlic with the vegetables for the salad. 

The Zucchini Fritters 

1. Grate 2-3 zucchinis into a bowl. 
2. Squeeze out excess moisture of the grated zucchini and discard juices. You want the grated zucchini to be as dry as you can make it.  
3. Add grated Parmesan cheese (as much or as little as you like) to the grated zucchini with salt and pepper. 
4. To the zucchini mixture, mix in an egg and add a sprinkle of flour, a little at a time until your zucchini mixture holds together. It should be a sticky consistency that holds together. Don't overdo the flour as you don't want the mixture to be too doughy and tasteless. 
5. Heat coconut oil in a hot pan, and dollop spoonfuls of zucchini mixture into the pan, and flip until browned on both sides. 

Suggested Plating 

The Line of Roasted Veggies: 

1. Place raw and washed baby spinach in a thin layer on the centre of the plate 
2. Slice roasted broccoli florets into smaller pieces and zigzag these over the baby spinach
3. Carefully place sliced and roasted radish against the broccoli florets
4. Layer sliced avocado on top, 
5. Sprinkle some raw radish over the line of vegetables for some fresh peppery tones, 
6. Balance zucchini fritters on the line of vegetables 
7. Dot and drizzle roasted tomato and garlic dressing 
8. Place zucchini slices over this to create a sort of archway 
9. Finish this line of vegetables with alternating dollops of creamy hummus and guacamole

The outskirts of the plate: 
1. Julienne roasted carrot and create X's around the line of veggies. 
2. Slice cherry tomatoes and place upright on plate between the carrots
3. Place raw radish on the roasted carrot X's. 
4. Dollop creamy hummus and guacamole around the plate.  

Finish the plate: 
1. Sprinkle mixed seeds and nuts on the plate for some crunch.   

Enjoy. 

Let me know what your favourite winter recipe is.
Xxx