italian roasted broccoli salad

I made spaghetti and meatballs last week. We all needed some comfort food after a long week. While the sauce was simmering, I started to make a salad with some red leaf lettuce that was in the fridge, but then I saw that the broccoli was looking a bit sad. I’ve been getting back in the habit of roasting up big pans veggies at the same time, so that I always have some on hand per Tamar Adler’s wonderful suggestion. If you’re trying to get in the habit of eating more veggies, I highly suggest you try her method. Basically, you roast up a bunch of veggies as soon as you bring them home (which, according to Eating on the Wild Side is probably a good idea anyway), then refrigerate them for meals or snacks throughout the week.

I threw together this “salad” in about two minutes because I had already roasted the broccoli, but it wouldn’t take much longer if you need to roast the broccoli. It was a nice break from the red leaf salad that we usually have for dinner, and as an extra bonus, I ate it for lunch for the next several days. I think it will definitely be making it on my regular not-sad-desk-lunch list. It’s also adaptable based on what you have on hand:

• If you don’t have feta or don’t eat cheese, leave out the cheese or try some goat cheese.
• If you don’t have pine nuts, try walnuts or slivered almonds.
• If it’s growing season, try cherry tomatoes instead of sun-dried.
• Use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand instead of dried.
• Throw in some cauliflower or asparagus too.
• Add some quinoa or chickpeas (or the grains and beans of your choice) to make it into a full meal.
• Be creative!