Kokako's roast vege salad with feta and kale pesto

Ted Baghurst

Roast vegetables are a quick dinner staple. If you're after a new set of flavours, try this recipe from organic and Fairtrade-friendly Kokako Cafe, which pairs parsnip, carrot and artichoke with feta and a savoury kale pesto.

kale pesto

100 g	Kale leaves
2 cloves	Garlic
40 g	Parmesan cheese, grated
1	Lemon, freshly zested and juiced
30 g	Pine nuts, toasted
100 ml	Olive oil

Salad

2	Parsnips, peeled (Main)
200 g	Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed
100 g	Baby carrots, use purple carrots, cleaned and trimmed
100 g	Baby carrots, use orange carrots, cleaned and trimmed
20 g	Garlic cloves, peeled
15 g	Fresh rosemary
50 ml	Olive oil
¼	Cauliflower, cut into florets
10	Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 to serve	Feta, use a good quality feta
1 to serve	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley

Directions

1. For the kale pesto, blend with a stick blender and season with salt and pepper.
2. For the salad, clean and trim baby carrots and peel and quarter parsnips.
3. Cut root vegetables and cut into similar sized pieces so they all roast the same. Reserve cauliflower and tomatoes!
4. Season well with salt and pepper and roast at 200C for 30 minutes until just tender and coloured.
5. Half-way through roasting add cauliflower.
6. Arrange roasted vegetables nicely on the plate.
7. Top with cherry tomatoes and dollops of kale pesto.
8. Finish with Italian parsley leaves and crumbled feta.
9. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and a good crack of pepper.