This week, we're spending a bit of time singing the praises of winter salads. While preparing them in colder months can be more challenging than in spring or summer, a good winter salad takes hearty greens, vibrant fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts, and more and creates downright stunning salads that can easily play the star of the show or bring brightness to cooler seasonal plates in a season that sometimes begs for the light.
One thing I adore about this salad is how versatile it is. Want to keep it vegetarian? Nix the chicken. Vegan? Skip the chicken and blue cheese and add marinated tofu or tempe. Don't have escarole? Use more of the other greens or add some spinach instead. Pomegranate and dried cranberries are both fantastic in this, but you can skip either or substitute other favorites. This version is packed with loads of flavor and color and texture and is stunning in all its glory, but a paired down version will also be lovely and might be better suited as a side salad than it is as written. As is often the case, make it yours.
I just have a glass of iced tea or chilled white wine with this and call it dinner. There's so much already happening on my plate that this full salad does it all for me. If you've paired it down to a side salad instead, consider serving it with roasted chicken or pork or any variety of fritters. Here's to healthy winter salads!
Celebrating Winter Salad
- ¼ c. balsamic vinegar
- 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 T. maple syrup
- ½ tsp. dijon mustard
- ½ lb. cubed peeled sweet potato
- 2 c. chopped radicchio
- 2 c. chopped escarole
- 2 c. chopped kale
- Seeds from ½ a pomegranate
- ½ c. dried cranberries
- 1 large honeycrisp apple, cored and chopped
- ½ c. pepitas
- ⅔ c. pecans
- ½ c. crumbled blue cheese
- 2-3 c. shredded/chopped leftover chicken - rotisserie works perfectly
- 1 tsp. neutral oil - I used canola
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Combine the first 4 ingredients (balsamic vinegar through dijon mustard) in a resealable jar; shake vigorously to make a dressing.
To air fry the sweet potatoes, toss the cubed peeled sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Then air fry them at 400°F for 12 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking process. Cool them slightly while you continue to prepare the salad.
Massage 2 tablespoons of the dressing into the chopped kale. Toss the kale with the other greens and an additional 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Place the dressed greens in a large serving bowl.
Mix the pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries, chopped apples, air fried sweet potatoes, pepitas, pecans, and blue cheese together. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dressed greens in the serving bowl.
Crisp shredded/chopped chicken in the neutral oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat by letting it sear for 2-3 minutes at a time before stirring again. Add the garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper in the last minute of cooking.
Remove the chicken from the heat and top the salad with it. Serve immediately with any remaining dressing on the side.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes