We love a good veggie-packed meal, and can’t think of a better time of year to load up all of our dishes with tons of fresh vegetables. We wanted to get creative and use as many veggies as possible in our next meal, so we headed to our local farmers market to see what looked irresistibly fresh and in season!
Raw veggies are fantastic, but charred vegetables have an irresistible flavor of which we just can’t seem to get enough. On our market trip, we found locally grown carrots, broccoli, fennel, snap peas, and a ton of fresh chives, and were immediately inspired to create a unique charred vegetable salad that is totally packed with flavor and nutrients. We also snagged a freshly made everything bagel to make some crunchy, super flavorful croutons.
For this recipe, we used two of our favorite pans from our Essential Set, but you could easily make this a one pan situation with either pan (see notes below the recipe). We used our Large Nonstick Skillet (11”) to char the veggies, then broke out our Nonstick Chef’s Pan (10.25”) to toast our everything bagel croutons.
Pans we used:
Ingredients for Our Charred Veggie Salad:
- ½ lb. (8 oz.) Carrots
- 1 small head (about 8 oz.) Broccoli
- 1 bulb (about 8 oz.) Fennel
- 3 tbsp. Olive Oil, divided
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 Everything Bagel, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 4 cups Salad Greens
- 1 cup thinly sliced Snap Peas
- Your Favorite Dressing (like Green Goddess Dressing or Balsamic Vinaigrette)
- ¼ cup finely chopped Chives
- pinch of Flaky Sea Salt
Ingredient Notes:
- Vegetables: You can use your favorite vegetables in this salad, too! Bell peppers, asparagus, cauliflower, and red onions are really great options.
- Dressing: Creamy dressings are our go-to for roasted veggie salads, as they cling to the veggies and add a burst of flavor to every bite. For a savory flavor, look for a creamy Green Goddess, Avocado Caesar, or Creamy Herbed dressing. For a slightly sweeter alternative, we love a good Balsamic Vinaigrette!
- Croutons: The bagels at our market were way too awesome to pass up, but some great alternatives are sourdough bread, whole grain bread, or any rustic bread. Tear or cut bite-sized pieces of your favorite loaf; 1 ½ cups of bread pieces should do the trick, but you can decrease or increase the amount to fit your preference!
- Flaky Sea Salt: Our secret-weapon-ingredient to take any salad from pretty good to amazing is … you guessed it … flaky sea salt. Sprinkle crunchy, flaky sea salt over your salad for a restaurant quality finish. (Bonus tip: a drizzle of really good olive oil is our second secret-weapon-ingredient!)
Why our pans? We love our nonstick pans because they cook consistently, are easy to handle, and easy to clean up! Worrying less about the cooking process allows us to focus more on the creative side of cooking. The most comfortable handles on our pans make cooking even easier than expected, and we love a minimalistic approach to cooking when it feels right: If needed, we can use the same pan to char the vegetables and then toast the bread (in separate steps). Cleanup is a breeze because of the nonstick surface, too! Oh, and did we mention that we are a women-led brand? 🙂
The nonstick surfaces of both pans help the vegetables char evenly without sticking to the pan and creating a mess. There are a lot of veggies in this recipe, so the Nonstick Skillet does get pretty full. Try to have as many vegetables in contact with the pan as possible (surface contact = char!), but if some parts of the veggies aren’t totally charred, that’s okay!
Great food doesn’t have to be difficult, and we definitely want to encourage you to use your favorite vegetables for this salad, or use what you have in the fridge. The cooking process is pretty simple, and our pans will help you feel like a success no matter your kitchen skills. Just have fun with it, and enjoy!
Recipe:
- Wash and dry vegetables thoroughly.
- Slice the carrots into ½” thick coins, cut the broccoli into bite-sized florets, and slice the fennel into ¼” thick slices (See our notes below for how to cut fennel).
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in our Large Nonstick Skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl the oil in the pan to coat the surface, then add the prepared vegetables into the hot pan.
- Sprinkle a healthy pinch of salt and the garlic powder over the vegetables, and toss or stir the vegetables in the pan until they are thoroughly coated in oil, salt, and garlic powder. Arrange the vegetables so they have as much surface contact with the pan as possible. Cook vegetables for about 15 minutes, stirring every so often, until most of the vegetables are lightly charred. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- While the vegetables are cooking, cut or tear the everything bagel into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Heat our Nonstick Chef’s Pan on a separate burner over medium heat. Add one tablespoon of olive oil, and once the oil is hot, toast the crouton pieces in the pan until golden brown and crunchy. Remove from the heat.
- Place salad greens in a large serving bowl. Spoon the charred vegetables over the greens, followed by the sliced snap peas, and toasted bagel croutons.
- Drizzle your favorite salad dressing over the salad, and sprinkle the finely chopped chives and a pinch of flaky sea salt over the salad before serving.
- Serve family style and enjoy!
Notes:
- How to cut fennel: Cut the top ½” (stalk end) and bottom ½” (root end) off of the fennel bulb, (the top portion with the stalks can be reserved and used to flavor stocks or soups, and the green fronds can be used as garnish on this salad or other dishes). Cut the remaining bulb in half, then slice the halves into ½” slices.
- Only using one pan: If you’d rather just use one pan for this recipe, toast the croutons first, then transfer them to a small bowl once they are golden brown and toasted. Wipe out the pan with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, and proceed with charring the vegetables in the same pan.
