My favorite winter salad

I tend to get stuck in ruts... I am a very monotonous person sometimes when it comes to things I do every day, or when it comes to cooking dinner.  It is something I am not proud of, being such a creature of habit but oh well.  For this reason however I have been making a certain salad very often.  I have appologized to those who have had to share it with me, but luckilly they like it too and have no complaints, so I keep making it.   It is so good I cannot go without making it at least a few times a week, at least as long as the vegetables I use in it are in season.  I have come to love sunchokes this year, especially thinly sliced and roasted.  Right out of the oven with sea salt they are like chips!  In this favorite salad of mine,  I combined them with carrots and rutabagas roasted in the same way, and they are delicious together.    I used my standard toasted pecans to top off the salad as well as some golden raisins, which I don't think are used enough, but I love!  Everything is dressed in a light maple balsamic vinaigrette, and it is so delicious I could eat it all myself!  I listed this recipe as serving three, but it is actually two Amy sized servings.  Even if you are skeptical about root vegetables and don't care for them, this salad could change your mind.  I served it to my Mom who is not a big fan of root vegetables, and she looked at it and gave me "the look", saying "You know I don't like rutabagas..."  But once she tasted it she actually loved it and there wasn't a rutabaga left on that plate!  I love it when I can change people's minds about liking veggies!  Here is the salad recipe if you would like to try it for yourself!

Roasted  Root Vegetable Salad with Toasted Pecans and Golden Raisins

Serves 3

2 large carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 large sunchokes, thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 small rutabagas, thinly sliced on the diagonal
olive oil
sea salt

Pecans:

1/2 cup pecans
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp maple sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground chipotle powder
Dressing:
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp riesling vinegar

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

5 cups mixed flavorful greens such as arugula, mizuna and dandilion
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line three baking sheets with foil, and spray with nonstick spray. Toss root vegetables with just enough olive oil to coat, and spread out on sheet pans.  Roast until starting to brown at edges and tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with sea salt, and let cool to room temp. Decrease the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Toss pecans with honey, maple sugar and sea salt and spread out on one of the sheets. Roast in the oven until fragrant and starting to brown, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Meanwhile, whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Combine greens, shallots, and roasted veggies, in a large bowl, pour dressing over, and toss with hands to coat. Divide salad between 3 plates and top with toasted nuts and golden raisins.