One-Pot Wonders: Warm Winter Vegetable Salad With Ricotta and Herbs

Don't you love those moments when everything seems to click and it's a complete 'ah-ha!' moment? The beginnings of this dish were already in the works when I had a recent dinner at the newly opened All'onda and the final pieces came together in one of those great moments of clarity: a delicious side of Brussels sprouts. The dish was vinegary, tangy, and had a great crunch from pistachios, which I realized have been a key missing element of my go-to winter vegetable salads.

You might not think that you can be satisfied with just vegetables for dinner, but between the pistachios, various root vegetables and greens, and creamy ricotta, this dish is actually quite filling. I'd initially envisioned this dish being finished under the broiler with a haloumi or feta, but I wound up preferring the cooling aspect of the cheese in contrast to the hot vegetables.

Most of the work for this recipe is the prep, but it's still pretty minimal overall. The key is to try and get the ingredients as similar in size as possible so that they cook evenly. Note that parsnips and carrots, depending on the size you buy, tend to have uneven shapes, so you'll want to quarter the larger rounds to blend in with the rest.

Like a stir fry, this recipe comes together very quickly. I start by softening the onions, followed by the spices and herbs for flavor and depth, and finally add the rest of the vegetables. The pan will be a bit dry at first, to help brown the vegetables, but I later add some stock to help them cook a little faster. Finally, I fold in some kale, toss in the pistachios, give it a drizzle of vinegar for a nice hit of acidity, and top it with ricotta for a rich and creamy finish.