*This Lemony Roasted Broccoli Salad is so nourishing and wholesome. The fresh yet hearty salad is filled with goat cheese, avocado, and sweet raisins.*

You guys know by now that I love to cook seasonally, and many of the dishes that pop up in my mind are rooted in whatever great, fresh produce is currently available. I love making light, fruit-filled salads in the spring and summer; warm, hearty baked goods in autumn; and rich, decadent, comforting dinners during the cold winter months. But one struggle I face when cooking in winter is figuring out how to avoid making everything too rich and too heavy.

I suspect maybe you know what I mean. It’s just so easy to load lots of cheese, butter, and heavy cream into every pasta meal, sweet treat, and even vegetable dish I make this time of year. It’s just that cheese and cream and butter are so yummy with potatoes and butternut squash and all of the other bounties of winter. And I think that sometimes we really need this type of cozy comfort when it’s cold and dreary out.

But there definitely comes a point when some lightness is the perfect thing to balance everything out. When there’s been just one too many cheesy casserole or creamy sauce and all we want is some delicious, fresh, vegetable goodness. On days like those, even when it’s still winter, I turn to simple yet hearty salads, like this one. The great thing about this lemony roasted broccoli salad is that, while I consider it more of a wintery dish, it’s really perfect anytime of the year. In fact, whenever I have leftover roasted broccoli, I often love to throw it in a simple salad. It provides so much heft and flavor, and I love how a simple vinaigrette soaks into the florets a bit for that much more flavor. Today, I’m adding lots of fresh lemon juice, some minced garlic, rich goat cheese, creamy avocado, and a burst of sweet raisins. This is seriously the perfect nourishing, wholesome, and fresh yet hearty dish for these last few weeks of winter.