SOMETHING SIMPLE: Baked Salad With Brussels Sprouts and Halloumi

Ever since I moved to Minnesota, more than 11 years ago, I’ve tried to fast-forward through March. Winters here can be intense. The days are short and dark and often dip into subzero temperatures, and the season itself sometimes feels like it will go on forever.

Still, as an honorary Minnesotan, I’ve learned to embrace the cold. I bought the good boots. I’m getting fair to average at downhill skiing. And I’ve discovered the joys of hibernation — flames in the fireplace, a pot of soup simmering on the stove, and my precious cat purring in my lap.

But once March rolls around, frankly I’m kind of over it. I’m ready for spring, and unfortunately it’s not due for another month or two. I want to move on from stews and mulled ciders, but the weather hasn’t gotten the memo. I’m dreaming of a bowlful of vegetables, and yet a cold salad of raw greens just doesn’t seem right.

Enter the baked salad — a warm meal where some (or all) of the ­ingredients are roasted on a sheet pan, which gives me the veggies I need along with the coziness I still crave this time of year. My personal formula includes at least two kinds of vegetables, plus some protein, topped with something crunchy, tossed with some salt, fat, and acid.

In this recipe, Brussels sprouts and red onion turn tender and sweet when roasted in the oven. If you have bad memories of the bitter Brussels sprouts of your youth, it might be time to give them a second chance.

The vegetable once had high concentrations of plant compounds called glucosinolates, which were responsible for the sulfurous odor of cooked Brussels sprouts. In the 1990s, Dutch scientists were able to find heirloom varieties of Brussels sprouts with lower levels of these bitter-­tasting compounds. They then crossbred the older plants with modern, high-yield ones, creating a new generation of significantly less sulfurous sprouts.

And they’re still quite good for you: Brussels sprouts are rich in antioxidants, dietary fiber, and potent phytochemicals — including carotenoids for eye health and anti-inflammatory kaempferol, as well as those glucosinolates.

Halving the sprouts allows them to become crispy on the outside but tender inside. Be sure to rinse and dry them thoroughly first — any water left behind would encourage the sprouts to steam rather than roast, and while they’d still be delectable, you’d miss out on the golden-brown edges. The same goes for the chickpeas: Rinse and dry them with a kitchen towel to ensure they get crisp.

But the real star of this recipe is the halloumi. A semi-hard brined cheese from Cyprus, it has a high melting point that allows it to be baked without losing its shape. In this recipe, the cheese gets brown and crispy alongside the vegetables — and it adds a bit of extra protein.

The best thing about a baked salad is that the recipe can be flexed ­according to the season or your personal preferences. In the fall, I like to use butternut squash in place of Brussels sprouts. If you eat meat, diced ­bacon is a delicious addition. If you want a little more heft, swap the almonds for cubes of sourdough bread, or serve the salad over quinoa or brown rice.

Because it’s so easy to make it your own, a baked salad is a great meal for any time of year. But this is the one I like to eat in March, while I wait not-so patiently for spring to finally arrive.