Roasted Red Onion + Ricotta Salad

Name: Roasted red onion & ricotta salad with cumin seeds, herbs and toasted maple walnuts
Yield: 4 as a side, 2 as a light lunch
Ingredients: 750g red onions, skins removed and chopped into wedges; 3 tablespoons olive oil; ½ teaspoon salt flakes; 2 teaspoon cumin seeds; ½ cup (100g) firm ricotta; 1 - 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar; 1 cup soft green herbs (mint, parsley, basil, tarragon), roughly torn; ¼ cup toasted walnuts

I’m seeing the sunrise most mornings these days, catching a quiet moment before the burble of the day begins; taking pause to enjoy the cooler air and birdsong. The change of season is here.

With the relief of the cooler air overnight, just enough to fog up the car windows in the mornings, we have all been needing more sleep and feeling a little more bleary eyed when we rise; I guess we’re ready to wind down after this long hot summer and let our bodies catch up from all that it has brought. We have learned a lot and grown, as always, and now it feels time to take stock and appreciate the things we have done, and notice the passing of time.

The garden too is starting to change so we are enjoying the last of the basil and tomatoes while they are still here. It seems like they may be gone within the week; sometimes the change happens so fast when it finally arrives. The garlic is sprouting, the sunlight feels different and life is shining more gently.

After a long hot summer of fresh things, it feels time to enjoy some more comforting foods. We’ve started roasting things again, craving some softer, creamier textures and the crunchy caramel around the edges. Bodies have been hungrier for more sustaining things, rather than the light relief of all that is summer food. We are feeling the start of the yearly transition from summer to autumn, growing time into harvest and the preparation for winter; an anticipation of our world winding down just a little for the next part of the year. The time is coming for knitting and socks, snuggling and cuddling with blankets on the couch, and steaming cups of tea. Are you feeling it too?

Here is a little salad just right for that transition; something a little warm, a little golden, but still a little fresh; enjoying those last breaths of summer and inviting the start of the cosy weather and all the goodness that it brings.

Roasted red onion & ricotta salad

with cumin seeds, herbs and toasted walnuts

I think every good salad needs to have more than one thing going on to make it interesting; I love it when I feel like I get something different on my fork with each bite. I guess this is what can make a salad feel like a meal, rather than ‘just a salad’. The combination of sweet roasted onions, fresh herbs, a little creamy ricotta and toasty walnuts tick all the flavour and texture boxes, and mean that this can happily be eaten on it’s own, or with something simple served on the side.

Serves 4 as a side or 2 as a light lunch

Active time : 10 minutes + 30 minutes roasting

• Vegetarian • Gluten free • Grain free •

750g red onions, skins removed and chopped into wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt flakes
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ cup (100g) firm ricotta
1 – 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 cup soft green herbs (mint, parsley, basil, tarragon), roughly torn
¼ cup toasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 180° C fan forced.

Remove the skins from the red onions, and chop into small wedges. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil, salt and cumin seeds and toss to mix. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the oven from the tray and use a teaspoon to scatter the onions with the ricotta, season the ricotta with an extra little sprinkle of salt if you like. Pop the tray back in the oven and roast for another 10 minutes, or until the edges of the ricotta have turned golden.

Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool to cool slightly before drizzling over the red wine vinegar, scattering with the herbs and walnut pieces.

Serve warm or at room temperature with a piece of grilled fish or perhaps a little chicken or lamb; or for a light lunch serve alongside a hunk of bread spread with butter, or a wedge of avocado and some lemon.

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