Roasted Tomatoes and Greens with Shallot Vinaigrette

June in Michigan is such a wonderful time of the year for cooking.  There’s an abundance of fresh produce everywhere and the weather is still fairly moderate so I don’t mind being at the stove or turning on the oven.  The cooler mornings and evenings keep me in the mood for baking and the warm sunny afternoons inspire a myriad of colorful salads.  These days are perfect for roasting all of those early summer fruits and vegetables.  Lately we’ve been enjoying our fair share of roasted cherry tomatoes in our pastas and salads.  Like any roasted fruit, cherry tomatoes become intensely sweet and even more beautiful after being roasted.   It may take a little bit of time to roast the tomatoes, but the extra effort is worth it in the end.  This salad is a glorious combination of textures and flavors- soft and juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, crunchy pepitas, creamy crumbly feta, and chewy spelt grains.   Adding whole grains to salads is a wonderful solution for making salads more substantial and filling.  I’ve used spelt here, but any whole grain such as farro, quinoa, or barley will do.   I brought this to a teacher’s appreciation luncheon at my daughter’s school a few weeks ago and it quickly disappeared!

Roasted Tomatoes and Greens with Shallot Vinaigrette

• Yield: 6 side portions

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup spelt, soaked 4-6 hours, drained and rinsed
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves shredded
• 1 English cucumber, diced
• 1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta, plus extra for sprinkling on top

Dressing

• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise and toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread tomatoes evenly on prepared baking sheet and roast for 25-28 minutes, until tomatoes are softened and slightly shriveled.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the spelt and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil then simmer spelt until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, blend dressing ingredients until well combined and smooth.
4. Toss kale, cucumbers, pepitas, and spelt with half the dressing. Gently toss in feta, tomatoes, and additional dressing to taste. If needed, season with additional salt and pepper. Garnish with additional feta and pepitas.