During the holiday season I like to serve a festive salad as a starter or main course for lunch or dinner. When I say festive, I’m talking about something that’s as bright and colourful as this time of year, and includes seasonal items.
I’ll start with an ingredient that’s as green as a Christmas tree — baby lettuce leaves are the obvious choice.
For something as red as Rudolph’s nose, there are pomegranate arils (seeds), a fruit available at this time of year. Fresh goat cheese fits the bill for an ingredient as white as snow.
Nuts are often in sweet and savoury foods at this time of year, so they, too, are a good ingredient to use in a festive holiday salad. So are other seasonal fruits, such as mandarin oranges and the selection of pears you’ll find available now.
Present those ingredients together, add a flavourful vinaigrette, and you’ll have a very nice salad, one that could serve as a starter before the main meal.
If you want to serve the salad as a main course, you might want to top it with some form of protein.
For today’s recipe, I chose a smoked turkey leg, removing the meat from the bone and slicing it.
Smoked turkey legs are sold at many grocery stores and at some butcher shops. As noted in the Eric’s options part of the recipe, you could also try other smoked or cured meats on the salad, such as slices of smoked duck breast, prosciutto or speck.
Festive Holiday Salad
This festive, colourful, flavourful salad could be served as a starter or main course during the holiday season.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: None
Makes: Four main-course servings; or six starter-sized servings
For the salad dressing
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp orange juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp honey
1/3 cup olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Place ingredients in a small jar, seal the jar, and then shake well to create an emulsified dressing (see Eric’s options). Refrigerate dressing until needed. It can be made a day or more in advance. Shake well again, before using.
For the salads
12 cups baby mixed salad greens (see Note 1)
4 medium mandarin oranges, peeled, halved and sliced, or separated into segments
1 small ripe pear, halved, cored and thinly sliced
32 to 36 pecan halves
140 gram package soft goat cheese, pulled in small nuggets
1/3 cup pomegranate arils, or to taste (see Note 2)
1 small (about 275 gram) smoked turkey leg, meat removed from the leg and sliced (optional; see Eric’s options)
Arrange the salad greens on four dinner plates, if serving the salad as a main course, or six smaller plates, if serving the salads as a starter. Artfully arrange some of oranges, pear, pecans, goat cheese, pomegranate arils and smoked turkey, if using, on top of each salad. Drizzle each salad with some of the salad dressing and serve.
Note 1: 142-gram or similar sized tub or bag of baby mixed salad greens, which are sold at most grocery stores, should yield the amount needed here. If needed, to freshen and crisp up the greens, submerge and soak them in ice-cold water 30 minutes. Now drain the greens well, gently spin them in your lettuce spinner, and they are ready to use in the salads.
Note 2: Already picked and cleaned pomegranate arils (seeds) are sold in small containers in the produce section of some grocery stores. If you can’t find them, know that one large pomegranate, when opened and picked through, should yield at least 1 1/2 cups of arils (seeds). Use some for the salads and put the rest in a sealed jar and refrigerate. Over the next few days you can simply snack on those arils, or use them in other ways, such as topping pancakes, crepes and desserts with them, or adding them to other savory dishes, salads, and drinks.
Eric options: If desired, you could add a pinch or two of a dried herb to the dressing, such as thyme, basil or tarragon. Instead of smoked turkey, try another type of smoked or cured meat on the salads, such as slices of smoked duck breast, prosciutto or speck.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
