Appetizing Autumn Salads

Seasonal Fall Salad

Take your favorite fall veggies, roast them up, and toss them together to make this colorful salad.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
• 1 (5-ounce) package fresh arugula or baby kale
• 1 avocado, peeled, diced, and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese (or feta or blue cheese)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds, lightly toasted
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• Any other veggies you would like to add

Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice (or red wine vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon We Olive Dijon mustard
• 1 small clove garlic, pressed or finely-minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

Directions:

1. To Make The Dressing: Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl (or shake together in a mason jar) until combined.  Use immediately or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
2. To Roast The Potatoes: Heat oven to 400°F.  Spread the diced sweet potatoes out on a medium baking sheet.  Drizzle with We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and toss until the sweet potatoes are evenly coated.  Season the sweet potatoes generously with salt and pepper.  Then bake for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and lightly browned/caramelized around the edges.  Remove from the oven and set aside.
3. To Assemble The Salad: Once the sweet potatoes are ready to go, add them to a large serving bowl along with the arugula, avocado, goat cheese, nuts, and cranberries.  Drizzle with the dressing, and toss until combined.  
4. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Hearty Autumn Salad

All of your fall salad dreams come true with this hearty autumn salad. Chopped apples, dried cherries, savory sweet potato, and other autumn spices combine to bring you this unforgettable salad!

Ingredients:

• 1 5 oz box Baby Spinach & Arugula Mix
• 1 cup Rice, cooked
• 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
• 1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and diced into ½ in cubes
• 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
• 2 Honeycrisp Apples, cored and diced into ½ in cubes
• 1 Pear, cut in half
• Dried Cherries

Herb Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette:

• 2/3 cup We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup We Olive Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 Garlic Clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1 tsp Fresh Rosemary, finely minced
• 1 tsp Fresh Thyme, finely minced

Directions:

1. Cook rice according to the package directions, and roast the sweet potato in the skillet or the oven.
2. Roast the sweet potatoes. Add the diced potatoes, avocado oil, cayenne pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and salt and stir to combine. Add to a skillet or a lined baking sheet with parchment paper, and cook accordingly.
3. Add the salad mix to a large bowl, then top it with the cooked rice, roasted sweet potatoes, apples, and cherries. 
4. Make the vinaigrette. To a food processor, add the We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil, We Olive Balsamic Vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until emulsified and creamy, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a jar, then add the fresh herbs. Shake or stir to combine.
5. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, toss and serve immediately.

Balsamic Roasted Veggie Salad

It’s all about the contrast in flavors, textures, and colors in this hearty fall salad featuring yummy veggies and a dressing your taste buds won’t forget. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sweet potato, skinned and chopped
• 1 lb carrots, halved
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 cup spinach, for the salad base
• 1 tablespoon feta cheese, to garnish

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons We Olive Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
2. Combine all vegetables (except spinach) in a large bowl and stir.
3. Add salt, pepper, oregano, and We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil for the salad and stir.
4. Spread vegetables on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.
5. To prepare the dressing, combine We Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil, We Olive Balsamic Vinegar, and maple syrup in a small bowl and stir until well combined.
6. In a bowl, add spinach and any other greens you prefer. Sprinkle roasted vegetables and feta cheese over the top.
7. Drizzle dressing over salad.
8. Serve and enjoy!