This Warm, Veggie-Forward Sheet Pan Meal Proves It’s Never Too Cold For Salad

When you’re facing frosty weather, the knee-jerk reaction is to dish up a creamy, hearty, super-filling dinner. No hate to all the casserole recipes we know and love so well, but the gratins and meat pies can get old. When you need to switch things up in the dead of winter, chef and blogger Andrea Buckett has the answer: Warm salad.

Specifically, a simple warm salad made of vegetables roasted on a handy sheet pan. This creation “combines roasted vegetables, hearty greens, and a tangy lemon-honey dressing for a satisfying seasonal meal,” Buckett writes. She’s talking about autumn, but the ingredients included in this tasty dish aren’t necessarily exclusive to any time of year.

Plus, the salad isn’t completely compromised of warm ingredients. After throwing chopped Yukon gold potatoes and red onion into the oven — when the potatoes are brown and crispy, you’ll add kale and lentils and continue roasting until those greens are wilted — you’ll top the fully roasted veggies with sliced radishes and torn pieces of radicchio. A sprinkling of feta cheese and lemon zest alongside that scrumptious lemon-honey dressing add enough brightness to remind you that there are plenty of sunny days ahead.

Andrea Buckett’s Sheet Pan Warm Salad

Ingredients

The dressing

• ¼ cup Canola oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• ¼ teaspoons salt

For the salad

• 2 Yukon gold potatoes, large diced (peel on)
• 1 red onion, cut into ½ inch wedges
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups roughly chopped black kale
• 1 can (540ml) lentils, drained, rinsed
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 small radicchio, torn into bite sized pieces
• 4–5 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. For the dressing, whisk together the canola oil, lemon juice, honey, oregano, and salt. Set aside.
3. Place a large baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes.
4. For the salad, add the potatoes, onions, olive oil, oregano, and salt to a large bowl and toss to coat everything. 
5. Remove the hot baking sheet from the oven. Add the potatoes and onions to the baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet back into the oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until potatoes are brown, crispy, and cooked through.
6. Add the kale to the bowl that the potatoes and onions were mixed in. Toss gently to coat the kale in the remaining oil left in the bowl. Add the lentils.
7.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and add the kale and lentils. Stir to combine. Return the baking sheet to the oven and cook for another 6-8 minutes, just to wilt the kale and warm the lentils.
8. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and stir in the radicchio and radishes. Scatter the lemon zest and feta cheese over top and pour over the dressing. Stir to combine.