Winter Lunch: Roasted Carrots w/ Fresh Mozzarella & Baby Kale Salad

It's hard to find good tasting seasonal ingredients during the lean winter months.

Carrots can always be found at the winter indoor farmer's markets or Union Square Market in NYC (or your grocery store).
And if you are lucky, your market might even have spicy heirloom carrots, in purple, yellow and red!

Basil: NOT a winter herb. I forget about it until the summer.....but I made a small batch of basil pesto with a .99 bunch of basil that I was fortunate to find at the Asian market in my town (most likely grown in South America?).

Baby kale is a nice find, it holds up to all dressings and has a lovely mild taste.
Found in a plastic box at the Asian market too (where are they getting this nice stuff?).

Watermelon Radishes: I have one left from my garden, harvested on Nov. 23!.....they lasted for months wrapped in a damp paper towel in a ziploc bag in the crisper drawer of the fridge).

I have to work extra hard to find good ingredients in the winter (I don't shop at Whole Foods).

Here's how I made this delicious winter salad: serves 2

Roast a big bunch of peeled carrots, split down the middle, lengthwise.
Season w/ olive oil, kosher salt & fresh thyme leaves. 425F for 20 minutes.

Plate the roasted carrots around a big platter of baby kale or arugula.
Plop a big ball of fresh mozzarella (burrata even better!) in the center.

Chop some kalamata olives and scatter them around the carrots.

Spoon some basil pesto (jarred stuff is ok) on top of the cheese.

Tuck in some radish slices, watermelon being the prettiest variety.

Season the plate w/ sea salt, black pepper and drizzle with a small amount of your favorite vinegar and the best olive oil.

Lunch is served.