You will fall in love with my chorizo salad with roasted vegetables and feta topped with pomegranate dressing. It’s hearty and filling to serve as a main meal or you can prepare it for a festive table to share around as a side dish. It’s gluten-free, healthy and delicious.
Roasted Vegetable Chorizo & Feta Salad
You know me and my love for hearty and filling salads. This roasted vegetable chorizo and feta salad is a perfect example of a salad dish that is healthy but also delicious and satiating.
This number features roasted beets, sweet potato, carrots and sweet bell peppers (capsicum), pan-fried chorizo (or another sausage), walnuts and smooth feta over rocket (arugula) and lettuce. Drizzled with citrusy pomegranate molasses dressing (alternatives provided in the recipe!), this salad is perfect for any time of the year but I do like it in autumn and winter when you don’t mind heating up the oven.
This salad is gluten-free and grain-free and can be made without feta if you’re avoiding dairy. Serve as a main meal or you can prepare it for a festive table to share around as a side dish.
Tips For Roasting Vegetables
I often get a question on how to roast vegetables well. There are probably a few different ways but here is what works for me:
- The oven needs to be hot when you first put the vegetables in, I usually do around 200 C / 400 F. This way they get straight to roasting rather than braising/steaming.
- Use a flat tray like this a sheet pan, not a deep baking tray with tall sides as you want as much hot air to circulate around the vegetables as possible. Again, a deeper baking tray will still cook the vegetables but they won’t be as browned or crispy in places.
- Don’t overload the tray and keep some space between vegetables. It’s better to do two trays and rotate them between oven shelves to achieve even cooking than do one big tray with too many veggies. Note that vegetables will shrink a little during cooking.
Pomegranate Dressing
A quick note on the pomegranate dressing. It doesn’t use fresh fruit but rather pomegranate molasses, which is also known as pomegranate syrup.
It’s made by reducing pomegranate juice to a thick, sweet-sour, dark red syrup. This Middle Eastern ingredient is used to intensify the flavours of sauces and dressings and can be used for braising meats or fish.
You can usually find it in most big supermarkets near vinegar and oils, or you can purchase it online.
If you don’t have Pomegranate molasses, replace it with 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar + 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup, or with aged/caramelised balsamic vinegar. We’re after a fruity, sour and sweet flavour.
More Healthy & Delicious Salads
- Chicken Cobb Salad With Chipotle Ranch & Grilled Pineapple
- Rainbow Salad Power Bowl With Salmon & Sesame Dressing
- Chicken Quinoa Salad With Honey Harissa & Tahini Yoghurt
- Beetroot, Avocado & Edamame Salad
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Ingredients
For roasted vegetables:
- 2 medium beets peeled and cut into 8 wedges each
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled and cut into half slices
- 1 large carrot sliced into thick circles
- 1 capsicum bell pepper, yellow or red, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon mixed dry herbs or Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 250 g chorizo or kielbasa, sliced into circles (8-9 oz.)
- 2 cups rocket arugula, packed
- 3 cups iceberg or cos lettuce, chopped
- 1/3 cup walnuts roughly chopped
- 1 cup feta crumbled soft or semi-soft (I used goat's feta)
For the pomegranate dressing:
- 3.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses like this
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard Dijon is also okay
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F.
- Combine cut-up vegetables with olive oil, salt, herbs and spices in a large bowl and toss with your hands. Spread on one large or two smaller flat sheet pan baking trays, making sure to leave a little space between pieces. Roast for 25-30 minutes.
- While vegetables are roasting, pan-fry the chorizo in a little olive oil over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side, until browned/charred. Remove to a plate.
- Prepare the remaining salad ingredients and whisk the dressing in a small bowl.
- Assemble the salad: Toss lettuce and rocket in half of the dressing then top with roasted vegetables, pan-fried chorizo, feta, and walnuts; drizzle with the remaining dressing. You can assemble in individual bowls or one large salad bowl or a platter.
Notes
- Feta: you can use any type of feta in this salad. Greek feta is usually firmer and saltier, while Danish is smoother and softer with a less intense flavour. Goat’s milk feta is typically softer and more mellow, which is what I used in this salad.
- Chorizo: I used Spanish-style chorizo that is rich in paprika and garlic flavours and can be purchased in most supermarkets or from a deli; Mexican chorizo or more subtle flavoured kielbasa can be pan-fried instead.
- Pomegranate molasses (also known as pomegranate syrup) is made by reducing pomegranate juice to a thick, sweet-sour, dark red syrup. This Middle Eastern ingredient is used to intensify the flavours of sauces and dressings as well as for braising meats or fish. If you don’t have Pomegranate molasses, replace it with 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar + 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup, or with aged/caramelised balsamic.
What hearty nutritious salad recipe! Love that you used roasted vegetables; yum!!
Wow the veggies in this salad are stunning and I love the colors and pairing them with feta- delicious! Made it on the weekend and already a new favorite. Thanks for the incredible recipe, Irena.
This salad was so delicious! Perfect for a light summer lunch or dinner!
The sweetness of the roasted veggies and the tanginess of the feta was just perfect! Loved the Chorizo too!
I love how this salad combines my 2 favorite foods: chorizo and roasted veggies! The combination of the savory meat and the delightful veggies is absolutely fantastic. Another gem from you, Irena.
My favorite salad, its so yum
This salad is really delicious! We made it with Danish feta with herbs and chopped hazelnuts instead of walnuts. Thank you so much for the recipe, Irena!