Warm Grain Salad with Roasted Veg, Bacon & Cheese
Warm Grain Salad with Roasted Veg, Bacon & Cheese is a comforting one bowl meal with wonderful flavour and texture combinations. Perfect for the cooler months, the base of wholegrains is tossed with roasted sweet potato, onion and kale, crunchy toasted pecans and pumpkin seeds, delectably smoky bacon, plus cubes of creamy cheese to melt in.
Bringing everything together is a warm, lightly sweet dressing flavoured with the bacon juices. Delicious, satisfying, and adaptable to whatever grains and veg you want.
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WARM GRAIN SALAD WITH ROASTED VEG, BACON & CHEESE
The idea for this sensational warm grain salad has been with me for many months. However, no sooner had I come up with the notion than Spring was around the corner. That meant the cosy combination of whole grains with roasted veg plus bacon and cheese, just right for autumn and winter, had to take a back seat for a while. But now, this wonderful comforting dish’s time has truly come. So delicious, it’s something well worth waiting for.
You’ll find a recipe card at the end with ingredient amounts and full instructions. But I hope you read the whole of this post for extra tips and inspiration. Not least because it makes a great template to come up with your own version.
INGREDIENTS
I’ve used a precooked mix of brown, red and wild rice, but you can use other grains or pseudo grains such as bulgur wheat, wholewheat couscous, or quinoa. I heat them by pinging in the microwave, but if you don’t have one then I recommend stirring into the roasting vegetables for the final 5 minutes of cooking.
I love a tangy blue cheese such as Stilton in this dish, but you could swap in others. Blobs of creamy cheese with garlic and herbs are especially good.
For crunch there are toasted sweetish pecans and nutty pumpkin seeds. Providing little smoky hits is bacon. Borrowing an idea from the French classic Salade Lyonnaise, I also use its cooking juices as the basis for a simple but tasty warm dressing that brings everything together beautifully.
ROASTING THE VEGETABLES
For the Warm Grain Salad you see in this post I chose sweet potato, onion, and kale. Onions and some type of greens are pretty much constants for me. But in place of the sweet potato, I’ll sometimes use celeriac, squash, parsnip, beetroot, or any combination of those.
I get the harder potato and onion roasting in olive oil first, seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried thyme. The kale joins them after 20 minutes as it only takes 5 or so minutes to wilt down. As mentioned above, if you want to heat cooked grains without a microwave then stir them into the vegetables with the kale.
FRY THE BACON, MAKE THE DRESSING
While the vegetables are roasting, you can be getting on with frying the bacon. Here’s I’ve used my favourite English dry cured smoked pancetta which is lovely and herby. But you can use any good quality smoky bacon or lardons. Fry in a little olive oil until cooked through and the fat’s crispy. Scoop the bacon out of the pan, leaving the oil behind.
Now you make that special warm dressing using the smoky oil. Start by cooking in it chopped garlic, plus a pinch of dried thyme, until golden. A little red wine vinegar goes in next plus sugar to taste. Bubble for just a minute or two to combine and lightly thicken and it’s done. Note: sorry, I forgot to take a photo of this stage! I will add one next time I make it but didn’t want to hold back posting the lovely recipe.
ASSEMBLING WARM GRAIN SALAD
Now’s the time when all those wonderful flavours you created come together in one harmonious, satisfying whole. Take a roomy bowl and tip in the warm grains, roasted vegetables and their cooking juices, the toasted pecans and pumpkin seeds, plus most of the crispy bacon. Toss well.
Add the warm dressing then toss again. I put in roughly half the cheese, tossing gently so as not to break it up too much.
Divide the salad between plates or bowls, topping each portion with the remaining cheese and the reserved bacon. For a little freshness, I like to finish with a sprinkle of very finely chopped raw kale.
DELICIOUS ONE BOWL MEAL
For me, Warm Grain Salad with Roasted Veg, Bacon & Cheese is the perfect cooler weather one bowl meal. Comforting, satisfying, plus delicious flavour and texture combinations, I love it for a cosy dinner on a chilly evening. Nutritious, packed with wholegrains as well as vegetables, I think the hits of smoky bacon, creamy, lightly melting cheese and warm dressing make this rather special.
The recipe is also infinitely adaptable to whatever vegetables you have. Almost any root veg can be substituted for the sweet potato. Squash, celeriac and/or parsnip, beetroot etc. are all good. Different greens work well too if you adjust cooking times appropriately e.g. spinach will cook quicker, while chard stems should go into the tray at the start.
If you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to know what you thought. Please leave a comment and rating.
Warm Grain Salad with Roasted Veg, Bacon & Cheese
A comforting one bowl meal with wonderful flavour and texture combinations that's perfect for the cooler months. Easily adaptable for different vegetables e.g. celeriac, parsnip, beetroot, spinach, chard.
Please read the accompanying blog post before starting.
Ingredients
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
- 80 g smoked bacon, pancetta, or lardons (diced small)
- 250 g cooked wholegrains (e.g. rice, bulgur, wheat, or a combination)
- 50 g pecans (lightly toasted, broken up)
- 25 g pumpkin seeds (lightly toasted)
- 80 g cheese e.g. Stilton, garlic and herb (diced medium)
For the roasted vegetables
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled, cut into medium dice)
- 1 large onion (peeled, cut in half then sliced thickly)
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
- 10 ml (2 tsp) dried thyme
- salt and black pepper
- 4 handfuls kale (tough stems removed, leaves roughly chopped or shredded: reserve a little and finely chop to use as garnish if liked)
For the dressing
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil (plus the cooking fat reserved from the pancetta, bacon or lardons)
- 2 small cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) red wine vinegar
- 15 - 30 ml (1 - 2 tbsp) light brown sugar
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 220° C/200° Fan /Gas 7 /425°F with a shelf just above the middle position.
Have ready a large roasting tray, lined with paper or foil if liked.
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Roast the vegetables
Place the prepared sweet potato and onion in the tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with the dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Toss.
Put in the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes.
Tip: while this is happening, fry the bacon as per the next step.
After 15 minutes, toss the vegetables again and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Add the prepared kale to the tray, season with a little salt and pepper and toss in the oil.
Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until all the vegetables are done to your liking.
Tip: If you don't have a microwave to reheat the cooked grains later, you can stir them into the roasting vegetables at the start of the final 5 minutes.
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Fry the bacon/pancetta/lardons
Put 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add the bacon and fry until cooked through and the fat is crispy.
Remove the bacon to a bowl or plate, leaving the fat behind.
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Reheat the cooked grains
Microwave on high for 2½ minutes or according to any packet instructions.
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Make the dressing
Put the frying pan with the bacon juices over medium heat.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (unless there are already more than 2 tablespoons of fat in there)
Add the garlic and cook briefly, just until golden.
Add the red wine vinegar plus 1 tablespoon of sugar and bubble until the sugar is dissolved.
Take off the heat, taste and add more sugar if necessary. Add some black pepper plus salt if you think it needs it.
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Take a large bowl and tip in the hot grains, the roasted vegetables and any cooking juices, the toasted pecans and pumpkin seeds, and most of the bacon. Toss well.
Add the warm dressing and toss again.
Gently toss through half the cheese, trying not to break it up too much.
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Divide the salad between plates or bowls and sprinkle over the remaining bacon plus the reserved cheese.
Sprinkle over any reserved finely chopped raw kale and serve.
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