Roasted Veggie Salad & Vegan Avocado Cream
Avocado cream is the It Girl of the condiment world. You’ll find versions of it on menus all over town — it’s the creamy finish on tacos, an elegant chip dip, a brilliant topping for toast, and the best thing to happen to crispy fried potatoes since béarnaise.
In this recipe, we’ve spiked puréed avocado with garlic, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. It’s a little zippy! We love how that bright, puckery kick brings out all the sweetness in our earthy roasted veggie salad. Best of all, you can feel really good about eating our avocado cream because we’ve left out the sour cream you’ll find in some recipes. It doesn’t need dairy — the avocado brings plenty of dreamy creaminess all by itself.
4 servings
Ingredients
For the roasted veggies:
¾ cup red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups Brussels sprouts, hulled and halved
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the avocado cream (makes 1 cup):
1 avocado
1 teaspoon fresh garlic
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
4 oz arugula greens
Directions
- Heat oven to 400 F.
- To make the roasted vegetables: On sheet pan, combine the peppers, squash, Brussels sprouts, thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. Toss all the ingredients to coat with seasoning and oil.
- Roast in oven for 45-50 minutes, turning veggies with a spatula halfway through the baking time. Cool completely.
- To make avocado cream: In a food processor, combine the avocado, garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt and cayenne. Pulse until creamy.
- Divide the arugula among 4 plates and top each one with roasted veggies and a drizzle of avocado cream.