Dishing Up the Dirt

roasted cauliflower, broccoli, & sun dried tomato salad with chickpeas

March 7, 2013

Yesterday involved too much coffee, a lot of anxiety about the weather forecast, and not enough sleep.

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Needless to say we were all a little cranky.

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However, yesterday also involved this lovely salad and a large glass of wine. This salad set us straight. After one bite we immediately became calm again. All of the jitters from over caffeinating ourselves earlier in the day simply went away. Maybe it was the wine, but I am pretty sure it was this salad that cured us.

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This salad is loaded with everything I love. Perfectly roasted vegetables, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. It is another “throw it together” type of meal. You can literally use whatever veggies you have on hand which is what I love about it. You really can’t go wrong here.

Roasted Cauliflower, Broccoli & Sun Dried tomatoes with chickpeas (serves 4)

1 head organic cauliflower

1 head organic  broccoli

1 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil (drained)

1/3 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 tbs balsamic vinegar

dash of crushed red pepper flakes (if you don’t like spice omit this part)

olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425. Chop up your broccoli and cauliflower into florets. Put them in a large bowl and drizzle with some olive oil. Add a little salt and pepper and mix everything together.  Spread out on a prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a little olive oil. After a minute or so add the garlic. Saute’ the garlic for about 2 minutes stirring often. Add the chickpeas. Turn the heat down to medium low. Cook until chickpeas are lightly browned stirring often. About 5 minutes.

Once the veggies are done roasting toss them in a bowl with the chickpeas and garlic. Add the sun dried tomatoes, olives, and drizzle everything with a little balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a dash of crushed red pepper flakes.

Enjoy!

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I’m off to watch the weather channel. Someone please send help!



Leave a Reply

22 thoughts on “roasted cauliflower, broccoli, & sun dried tomato salad with chickpeas

  1. Mary says:

    Yum! We have everything on hand – making this tonight!

  2. Crossing my fingers for you! Glad you can whip up delicious meals like this to keep everyone calm 🙂

  3. I’m getting hungry looking at these roasted veggies..No wonder you felt better after eating this salad packed with all delicious stuff. A glass of wine complements it perfectly.

  4. You come up with the best salad recipes! This one looks particularly delicious 🙂 I’m sending good weather vibes your way. My mom actually thinks I have power when it comes to the weather, haha! When I was 8, I prayed and prayed and prayed for a snowstorm on my birthday so I wouldn’t have to go to school and we got a huge blizzard with no school for 3 days! SO, hopefully my weather wishes will do you some good!

  5. Yummy! This looks like an excellent salad, very filling. I am a huge fan of roasted veggies.

  6. girlversusdough says:

    Mmm, I think this salad could cure just about anything. The wine could help, too. 🙂

  7. We’ll call it the salad 😉 Sorry about the stress you are under. I can imagine that the weather would determine your whole life in your job. Better days are coming your way!

  8. Sarah says:

    *THAT* + wine (+realityTVwhat????) = my dream night. Hope your day today was better!

  9. jlaceda says:

    Andrea, this salad is an example that simplicity is best! All the healthful flavours in here…YUM! Plus it’s good for the body! We have a rule here at home that we eat the colour of the rainbow everyday! This one fulfills a lot of those colours in one dish. Perfect!!!

  10. Most people think salads are pretty boring but you always come up with the most amazing salad recipes! I’m a fan! I guess leave it to a farmer to extra appreciate salads :-p

  11. laurengrier says:

    Soooooo you can make friends with salad!!! Simpsons? Anyways, I love how you make green things look an 11/10. Bravo!!

  12. Julia says:

    It’s amazing how a good healthy meal can brighten up your day. I would get stressed when there would be freezes in the forecast with my two dinky planter boxes so I can imagine the stress you guys must feel. Hope the weather works out in your favor, and like my mom always says after I drink too much caffeine, “eat a carrot, it soaks up the coffee!” 🙂

  13. Everything in here sounds so good–the chickpeas, the tomatoes, the cauliflower & broccoli, the olives. My mouth is watering!

  14. Yum! I love chickpea salads (that was our dinner tonight!) but I haven’t tried one with roasted veggies .. sounds great!

  15. This sounds delicious, and so healthy too. I really need to start eating more vegetables. I don’t know why I don’t make many vegetables dishes, it’s not that I don’t like vegetables, because I really truly do, I just always tend to forget about making vegetable-centered meals. The roasted veggies in this sound wonderrrrrful though, I will give this recipe a try next week in my effort to re-vegetize my life 🙂

  16. Carrie Link says:

    Four little letters: SSRI

  17. Linda says:

    I made this “salad” this weekend… I loved it (it reminded me of a meal I loved at an Italian restaurant of pasta broccoli, sundried tomatores, lots of garlic, all tossed in olive oil. But I don’t think the chick peas add much in the way of taste. They add nutrients but it’s the roasted vegies, garlic and amazing sundried tomatoes that make the meal so delicious.

  18. Jeanne says:

    This looks yummy. Can I make this the day before and serve it room temperature?

    1. Andrea says:

      Yes, you can definitely make this the day before!

  19. jeff says:

    I really love this recipe. Thanks so much. In the process of making it again.
    cheers.

    1. Andrea says:

      So happy you love it as much as we do! Cheers!

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