Roast Vegetable Salad

This was the first recipe that I developed as I became more confident with cooking, and incorporates some of my favourite flavours and ingredients. It is a recipe that was inspired by a number of people - the mayonnaise was roughly based by my friend's delicious salad dressing, and the use of toasted pumpkin seeds in salads is the delicious trademark of another friend. I used Annabel Langbein's caramelised onion recipe years ago, and have remembered the medley of ingredients every since. I love to use kumara as it is a traditional New Zealand root vegetable, and I always choose orange kumara because of its sweetness. I used Iceberg lettuce in this recipe to reduce the cost, however mesclun salad would taste and look lovely This combination of ingredients is special to me, because it is a reminder of Summer - warm months of fresh, vibrant and light salads.

Ingredients

3 medium	Potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes (Main)
3 medium	Orange kumara, cut into bite-sized cubes (Main)
1 large	Red onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
1 Tbsp	Brown sugar
1 Tbsp	Balsamic vinegar
1 cup	Water
½ cup	Pumpkin seeds
1 head	Iceberg lettuce
¼ cup	Mayonnaise
½ cup	Yoghurt
1 tsp	Lemon juice
100 g	Feta, crumbled
0 pinches	Salt
0	Pepper

Directions

1. Turn oven on to 180 degrees. Peel potatoes and kumara, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Microwave in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then remove the liquid and place in a roasting dish and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes (I find microwaving the vegetables before roasting leaves them lovely and soft on the inside, and crunchy on the outside).
2. While the vegetables are roasting, heat olive oil on a medium heat in a pot and add the red onion. Saute for a few minutes, then add the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and water. Turn heat to low and reduce the mixture until the water has evaporated and the onion starts to caramelise. Remember to stir the onions every 5-10 minutes so that they don't catch on the bottom of the pot.
3. Break away a dozen or so leaves from the lettuce, rinse and finely slice. Set aside.
4. Toast the pumpkin seeds gently on the stove. Toss regularly during this process, being careful not to let them burn. Set aside.
5. Mix together the mayonnaise, yoghurt, lemon juice and feta. Season with salt and pepper.
6. To construct the salad place a bed of lettuce on each plate. Evenly divide the roasted vegetables on top of the lettuce. Next, spoon the caramelised onions on top of the vegetables. Spoon the mayonnaise mixture over the onions, and finally scatter the toasted pumpkin seeds.