As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing quite like my Mum’s home cooking!! She always cooked us the most wonderful healthy and delicious food growing up and as kids we were encouraged to help out in the kitchen as often as we liked; a great tradition that has been passed on to their grandkids too.

I know my sister, brother and I acquired our love of cooking and healthy food by sharing in this experience and can’t thank both my parents enough for all the wonderful times we have spent in the kitchen together as a family. Mum and Dad have been visiting with us this past week and I had a couple of dinner requests for her, including the firm family favourite roast veggie salad.

I have wanted to share this veggie salad recipe for a while and am very happy to be posting it for you today. Mum would like you all to know that this vegetarian recipe can be prepared with whatever vegetables you prefer or have on hand and that she often uses an assortment of other ingredients like dried apricots or pears instead or the dates and any nuts or seeds you like instead of or including the walnuts. Roasted beetroot, parsnip and other root vegetables and any greens you like can all be added to this wonderful salad recipe.

Mum’s roast veggie salad is truly a taste sensation with a combination of all the good things in one delicious bowl, just check out that tasty list of ingredients!! We served it up for a super tasty and healthy dinner with lots of crusty bread or you could try accompanying it with this couscous recipe if you prefer.

Preparation time: 50mins // Serves 4

• 2-3tbs vegetable oil
• 500g (1lb) pumpkin, skinned & chopped
• 400g (14oz) potato, chopped
• 400g (14oz) sweet potato, chopped
• 1-2 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 1 tbs vegetable seasoning or powdered vegetable stock {we used a Greek spice seasoning}
• 240g (8oz) mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 200g (7oz) broccoli florets
• 3 good handfuls of mixed lettuce leaves
• 2-3 celery sticks, diced
• 1 red apple, diced and tossed in lime juice
• 240g (8oz) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 125g (4oz) feta cheese (optional for non vegans)
• 100g (3½ oz) walnuts (or any nuts &/or seeds you prefer)
• 7-10 dates, pitted and chopped

for the dressing

• ¼ cup mayonnaise (or veganaise)
• 1tbs dijionaise (or 1tsp Dijon mustard for vegans)
• 1tbs balsamic vinegar
• ½-1 tsp harissa
• 1tbs olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/428°F

Drizzle the vegetable oil into one large or two smaller baking trays and place them in the oven to warm the oil for a few minutes.

Once the oil has warmed, carefully add the chopped pumpkin, potato, sweet potato and carrot.

Bake the vegetables for 40-45 minutes, turning if need be, until roasted evenly, remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile heat a small amount of oil or butter in a frying pan, add the mushroom and garlic and fry for 3-4 minutes until tender. Add the broccoli florets and toss through for 2-3 minutes until warmed through, remove from heat.

Prepare the dressing by whisking all ingredients together with a little freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch of salt flakes.

On a large platter arrange the salad. Start with the roast vegetables, top with the lettuce leaves and then the mushroom and broccoli mixture, scatter over the apple, celery, cherry tomatoes, dates, walnuts and feta if using.

Drizzle over the dressing and serve with lots of crusty bread or couscous for a completely delicious and amazingly healthy vegetarian meal.

{ This recipe comes to you with very special thanks to my beautiful Mum xo }