When Michael and I were in Arizona a couple weeks ago, I was blown away by how many healthy restaurants there were within just a few miles of our hotel.

We ate SO good that weekend. We ate mostly salads but they were hearty, plentiful salads that were loaded with tasty veggies.

This inspired me to get a little more creative with the salads I make at home. I feel like salads can be just so plain and boring sometimes (and LBH unfulfilling).

For this hearty summer salad I wanted to empty out my veggie drawer, and really make the salad taste GOOD and be a hearty meal.

I made it for fun and didn’t take pics of the process — only snapped a couple after and put it on the gram! So I apologize for lack of in-the-moment photos.

Also — this ain’t your bag of romaine with a few croutons sprinkled on top. We’ll be roasting + preparing nutritious veggies that take a little more time to prepare.

Okay. Let’s get started.

INGREDIENTS

• Half a bag of spring mix lettuce (or your favorite — could be all spinach, all arugula, etc)
• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 1 bag of green beans
• 1.5 bag of cauliflower
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts
• 3 TBS of Trader Joe’s Soyaki
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 lemon
• Dill (to taste)
• Lemon Pepper (to taste)
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)
• Fresh cilantro
• Trader Joe’s Green Goddess dressing

OPTIONAL: Cauliflower batter

• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 cup of water
• Garlic powder (to taste)
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil two pots of water on the stove. Once they’re both at a rapid boil, add the carrots and green beans (cook in separate pots as they’ll probably cook at different speeds). Boil until the carrots and green beans are fork tender, then drain.
   
   Place the carrots and green beans in one large skillet together, and season with olive oil, salt, pepper, dill, and lemon pepper. Cover and leave on low.
   
   
2. Set the oven to 425ºf — it’s time to prepare the cauliflower. Making a batter for the cauliflower is optional! It takes a little more time but adds more flavor. If you want to forgo the batter, just drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil and roast for 20 minutes.
   
   To make the batter mix half a cup of flour to 1 cup of water (more or less water depending on how thick you want the batter). Add in garlic powder, salt and pepper, and stir. Dip each cauliflower in the batter, then place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Take cauliflower out (let cool for a few minutes) then toss in Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce. Bake for another 10 minutes.
   
   
3. Okay now we add everything together! Grab a large platter and lay down a healthy bed of spring mix. Then layer on top of that all the green beans and carrots. Then add your roasted cauliflower. Next, adorn with a healthy amount of pine nuts and *fresh* cilantro. Add a dash of black pepper and a good squeeze of lemon.
   
   Serve with Trader Joe’s Green Goddess dressing on the side in a little bowl — this dressing is bursting with flavor and IMO is best served by dipping your fork into it and then onto the food. ENJOY!

I hope you guys enjoy! This type of hearty summer salad is great for adding ALL kinds of vegetables. Empty out your veggie drawer and LMK what you make!

You can see another fav recipe of mine — no-fail easy grilled salmon HERE.

For daily pics you can follow along on INSTAGRAM, and for daily inspo you can follow along on PINTEREST.

post details: SOPHIE CONRAN PLATTER

Xx, K