Tray salad with roasted Brussels sprouts, romanesco broccoli, haricot and clementines

I love cooking and serving simple food. Unpretentious, yummy and pretty food served in a relaxed way - like here straight from the tray! Invite family or friends for a hearty dinner, or make a whole tray for yourself and you’ll hade lunch boxes sorted out for the rest of the week!

Just a note before starting with the recipe. As fresh garden beans (such as haricot verts and sugar snaps) are brought to Sweden by airplanes from far away places (primarily Africa/South America) I always get frozen ones when the Swedish garden beans aren’t in season. They work perfectly fine! Almos same thing with Brussels sprouts - the frozen ones can be used when fresh ones aren’t available, however the Brussels sprouts aren’t flown here so whenever I can get hold of fresh ones I’d prefer them even if they come from other European countries.

Now, lets get cooking!

Tray salad with roasted Brussels sprouts, romanesco broccoli, haricot and clementines

Serves 4

Ingredients

250 grams Brussels sprouts

1 romanesco broccoli, or broccoli

250 grams haricot verts (use frozen thawed ones when fresh ones aren’t in season)

1 radish bundle

2 avocados

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

1 Tbsp cold pressed olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For serving

4 portions of any cooked whole grain such as naked oats, quinoa, sorghum or wild rice (optional)

Any kind of dip, optional. For example my Golden turmeric hummus, Green pea spinach dip or Ginger tahini dressing

How to

Pre heat the oven to 175°C.

Remove the bottom part of the Brussels sprout if necessary. Remove the outer leaves and set aside. Cut the bigger ones in half and put them all in a oven tray. Break the romanesco broccoli in to smaller florets, save the leaves - cut the thicker ones in smaller pieces. Put on the baking tray. Toss with a tiny bit of oil. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until veggies are tender and slightly crisp.

Steam the haricot verts (if using fresh ones) for 5-7 minutes, until al dente. If using frozen ones just thaw them.

Cut the radishes in half. Peel and cut the clementines in slices. Cut, deseed and scoop out the avocados and massage the Brussels sprout leaves with just a tiny bit of oil. Toss everything together with the baked veggies. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Serve with your choice of cooked whole grain!

Baked cabbage with shaved fennel, apple, herb oil and toasted sunflower seeds

This is a salad perfect for a festive buffet - or a side to any meal really! The simplicity of baked cabbage, the flavours and textures which arises when being baked is extraordinary!! It’s silky, sweet and just v.e.r.y. tasty! Drizzle the whole thing with a lovely green oil and toss with a couple of hand fulls of shaved crispy vegges and fruits for great textures and flavours - and you’re good to go!

During winter I would probably use kale (which I massage with cold pressed rapeseed oil and a pinch of salt) instead of the fennel - and when you want to vary the recipe you can use any citrus fruit instead (or together with the) of the apples. Anyhow - the cabbage is key!

Baked cabbage with shaved fennel, apple, herb oil and toasted sunflower seeds

Serves 4-6 as a side salad

Ingredients

1 cabbage (preferably fresh cabbage, or pointy cabbage)

1 fennel

2 red apples

1 dl / 0.4 US cups sunflower seeds

1 tbsp rape seed oil

fresh thyme for garnish

Herb oil

1 dl / 0.4 US cups cold pressed rapeseed oil

1 dl / 0.4 US cups fresh herbs (e.g parsley, thyme, mint)

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to

Pre heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the cabbage in pieces, drizzle with oil. Put on a baking tray and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, until the cabbage is all silky and sweet - but still have that bite to it. Let cool.

Put the sunflower seeds on a baking tray. Toast in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes, until a nutty aroma fills the kitchen. Stir around halfway through. Let cool.

Mix all the ingredients for the herb oil (I tend to use the herbs I have at home, so every herb oil gets different). Salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the cabbage with half of the herb oil. Shave the fennel and apples using a mandoline, or slice thinly using a sharp knife. Layer the cabbage, fennel and apples and most of the sunflower seeds on a serving plate. Drizzle som extra herb oil on top and sprinkle with the rest of the sunflower seeds. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Recipe was first published in The Gothenburg-Post/Två dagar. Photo by Fanny Hansson.