Roasted Vegetable & Olive Kale Salad

This gorgeous salad is bursting with fresh flavours - and is wonderfully colourful too. The simple dressing, mix of fruit and vegetables, and lemon-seasoned olives create exceptional flavour combinations. Roasting vegetables is a great way to vary your veggies when you’re following a Mediterranean style diet. It’s a technique that deepens (and sweetens) the flavours, with a touch of caramelisation making for a dreamy taste and texture. (Just be sure to use a good quality olive oil for roasting.) Aubergine and butternut squash are brilliant in salads, because not only do they have their own subtle flavours, but they work beautifully with more powerful flavours too. Fresh kale has a distinctive flavour and is known for being packed with nutrients. If you don’t like your kale a little crunchy, then be sure to massage the dressing into it as the lemon juice ‘cooks’ the kale and softens its texture. Strawberries sweeten up any salad, and work well when paired with savoury aromas. By using Fragata Stoneless Manzanilla Olives seasoned with Lemon you get an extra fresh, citrussy hit, without overpowering every element of the dish. It complements the dressing and adds an extra dimension to the array of flavours this salad offers. The result is a salad that’s impressive enough to serve up to friends. (It’d make a great addition to a buffet table or as a barbecue side, especially served with grilled fish.) But it’s also simple enough to liven up lunchtime or your evening meal. This is a dish you can enjoy at any time of the year. The fresh flavours and strawberries are ideal for summer days. Yet the roasted root vegetable and satisfying kale mean it’s hearty enough for autumn or even warmer winter days too.