Roasted Carrot and Brown Rice Salad!
This salad has texture, flavor, and is visually stunning. A favorite salad any time of year!
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
Spicy Pepitas
- 1 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ancho chile or chili powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
For Salad:
- ½ cup brown basmati rice cooked to package instructions
- 8 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal (1/8" thick)
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups baby greens
- handful spicy pepitas (store bought or recipe included here)
- 2 teaspoons chopped chives (optional as garnish)
Salad Dressing:
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons white balsamic
- 2 teaspoons honey
- pinch sea salt and a few turns freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Make Pepitas:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place oven rack in center position
- Place all ingredients together in a bowl, toss and then spread on a cookie sheet. Bake, shaking pan once or twice, until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes
- Remove from oven and turn heat up to 400 degrees and move oven rack to the upper third position. Set pumpkin seeds aside to cool
For Salad:
- Start cooking rice to package instructions
- After slicing carrots, place on a parchment covered cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, toss
- Place carrots in oven and roast until carrots are soft and edges are browned. (usually between 30-40 minutes. While carrots and rice cook, make salad dressing.
Salad Dressing Prep:
- Whisk all ingredients together and set aside
Put it all together:
- When rice and carrots are cooked allow a little time for them to cool. They can be warm, but not hot.
- Place greens on platter, drizzle with desired amount of salad dressing and toss. Top with rice, carrots and pepitas, toss again. Sprinkle with additional sea salt and pepper if desired. Garnish with chives (if using) Serve
- Save extra pepitas in a sealed container and use as desired