This hearty salad makes a light, satisfying meal. I love all the different textures, and how the sweetness of the roasted vegetables plays off the earthy depth of the mushrooms. The recipe makes enough vinaigrette for a couple batches of the salad, and it will keep for at least a week in a covered container in the fridge. The vinaigrette may separate a bit after lengthy refrigeration. Let it warm up to room temperature on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before giving it a quick whisk to bring it back to life.
Mushroom Substitutions: Almost any mushrooms will work in the salad. You can substitute yellowfoots for the black trumpets in the vinaigrette, which will lighten both the flavor and the color.
Roasted Vegetable and Mushroom Salad with Black Trumpet Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Vinaigrette
- 1/3 ounce black trumpet mushrooms, dried or 5 ounces fresh
- 1 cup water warm
- Neutral oil
- 1/4 cup vinegar Banyuls or Sherry
- 1/2 cup olive oil extra virgin
Salad
- 1 eggplant large
- 1/4 cup olive oil extra virgin
- 1 cauliflower large, cut into florets
- 4 cups maitake mushrooms broken into 1-inch pieces
- 3 cups arugula loosely packed
Instructions
Vinaigrette
- Add the black trumpets and water to a bowl and soak until softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid separately, then clean the mushrooms, if necessary. If using fresh black trumpets, skip to the next step.
- Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the black trumpets. Add a pinch of salt and stir regularly until the mushrooms are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the soaking liquid and cook until reduced to about ¼ cup (60 ml), 4 to 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and blend the mixture until smooth using a blender or immersion blender. While blending, slowly drizzle in the olive oil to emulsify. Taste and add salt if needed. If the vinaigrette becomes too thick to blend properly, add a little cold water to loosen it.
Salad
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190 C). Line three rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Toss the eggplant with salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons oil. Spread out in a single layer on one of the prepared sheets and roast until soft all the way through and just starting brown, 15 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Toss the cauliflower with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon oil. Spread in a single layer on the other prepared sheet and roast until lightly browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. (If there is space in the oven, the cauliflower can be roasted at the same time as the eggplant; just start checking the eggplant for doneness a few minutes before the cauliflower.)
- After removing the eggplant and cauliflower from the oven, toss the maitake with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper, then spread out on the third prepared sheet to oven roast. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Toss the mushrooms, cauliflower, and eggplant together in a large mixing bowl, adding enough of the vinaigrette to coat, and mix thoroughly to coat evenly. Let marinate in the fridge for up to 2 hours.
- Add the arugula, a pinch of salt, and another 1 to 2 tablespoons of vinaigrette to the bowl. (You want enough vinaigrette to barely coat all greens, so it’s better to underestimate on the first addition. You can always mix in a little more.) Serve.
Notes
Tip: Banyuls vinegar is a unique vinegar made from the classic French fortified
dessert wine of the same name. Its flavor is almost halfway between that of sherry
vinegar and red wine vinegar. It is worth adding to your pantry, but if you can’t find
it, substitute sherry vinegar.
dessert wine of the same name. Its flavor is almost halfway between that of sherry
vinegar and red wine vinegar. It is worth adding to your pantry, but if you can’t find
it, substitute sherry vinegar.
