We’re big fans of eating seasonal foods. It gives rhythm
to our recipes and meals throughout the year. There’s something so refreshing
about tossing berries on a salad in summertime and something so comforting
about a hearty stew with kale and sweet potatoes when the weather cools down.
During these last few
months of winter, we encourage you to take advantage of these seasonal,
nutrient-rich ingredients for delicious winter salads. Here are a few winter
salad ‘greens’ that give you big taste and great nutrition!
- The purplish red and white leaves of radicchio, a member of the chicory family, add a slightly bitter, astringent flavor to salads. If it’s too bitter for your taste, just grill, roast or sauté the leaves, which brings out the sweet side of this vegetable.
- When you hear Brussels sprouts, you probably don’t think salad. But this cruciferous vegetable can be shredded and used just like cabbage, to make a Brussels sprouts slaw.
- Like almost all nutrition lovers, we have a love affair with kale, and other dark, leafy winter greens like collards and Swiss chard. While we love kale sautéed or added to soups and stews, one of our favorite preparations is to include it in a simple salad. Just massage the destemmed kale leaves with a little salt and lemon juice, and the tough and slightly bitter leaves become silky and sweet. Simply dressed with a little olive oil, it’s divine.
- Red, green and savoy cabbage are good for more than just cole slaw. Thinly sliced or shredded, they make a great base for a variety of salads—your imagination is the only limit! Cabbage makes a great base for make-ahead salads—great for taking to work—since they just get better as they set and marinate.
Here is a recipe to help
you get started in creating your own winter salad. In general, we like a salad that stimulates
and balances all of our senses and tastes—something sweet, savory and bitter;
something soft and something crunchy.
This winter salad is that perfect combination.
Roasted Broccoli & Radicchio
Winter Salad
Serves 6
1 head broccoli, cut
in small florets
2 tablespoons extra
virgin olive oil
3 small radicchio*, cored
and very thinly sliced
½ cup toasted pecans,
chopped
½ cup pomegranate seeds
6 ounces feta cheese,
crumbled (optional)
3 tablespoons sherry
vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
6 tablespoons extra
virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly
ground black pepper, to taste
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place broccoli florets on a large
sheet pan. Sprinkle with extra virgin
olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to
taste. Place in the oven and roast for
about 20 – 25 minutes, or until the broccoli is caramelized and cooked
through. Remove from oven and set aside
to cool.
3. To make the dressing, whisk together
the sherry vinegar, maple syrup and extra virgin olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground
pepper, to taste.
4. In a large bowl, toss together the
sliced radicchio, cooled broccoli florets, chopped pecans, pomegranate seeds
and feta cheese (if using). Pour over
the vinaigrette and toss to combine.
This salad can be made up
to 12 hours ahead.
*If you don’t like the bitterness of
radicchio, you can substitute any of the other winter greens in this recipe.
This looks fabulous! And you know I'm in to all things seasonal like you :-) I just signed up for a CSA program that gets delivered to Ian's office, and today is the first delivery. I'm SO excited to see what's inside :-) Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous salad .. with so many of my favorite ingredients! Love it and can't wait to try it.
ReplyDelete