If you are looking for a beautiful and flavorful salad for upcoming holiday events, this is the recipe for you. We served these colorful salads, showcasing the winter bounty at the most recent “Lunch with Elissa” and they capture the flavors the season. Using the concept of adding salt, acidity, sweetness, bitterness this is perfectly balanced. Be advises that this one does require a decent amount of prep, you can shorten it and leave a few ingredients out based on your preferences.
To save time, this recipe is great served with Lemonette Lemon Garlic Dressing.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 bunch of colorful butter lettuce (red, green, yellow, and rosey)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
8 brussels sprouts, shaved thin on mandolin
1/2 grapefruit, segmented
1/2 cara cara orange, segmented
1 pear, peeled and cut into cubes or thin slices
1 large or 2 small beets, peeled and brunoised
1 bunch red belgium endive, sliced thin
1 watermelon or red radish, shaved thin on mandolin
1 medium persian cucumber, sliced thin
1/3 cup fresh pomegranante seeds
1/3 cup toasted Marcona almonds, roughly chopped
1/3 cup Kite Hill Almond “Ricotta” Cheese
microgreens for topping
Dressing:
***For easy prep, I suggest using Lemonette Lemon Garlic Dressing, it’s absolutely perfect with this salad. If you can’t find Lemonette, another recipe option is below***
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 T. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla bean powder or 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch sea salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line baking sheet with parchment paper. Place thin slices of sweet potato (you could also use squash) on lined baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and finish with pinch sea salt. Roast until just softened and golden brown on the edges, approx. 15 minutes (depending on how thick your slices are cut, you may need 20 minutes). Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
While sweet potatoes roast, prepare remaining raw ingredients. Add prepared ingredients to a large mixing bowl and prepare dressing by adding all dressing ingredients into a blender and emulsifying. If you prefer more oil, add a tablespoon at a time (I prefer a more acidic dressing, but you can adjust to your liking). Set dressing aside.
Build salad by using clean hands, add the cooled roasted sweet potato to your raw prepared ingredients an drizzle with dressing, use clean hands to fold ingredients with the dressing. Adjust dressing ratio to your liking. Portion out and plate salad (or place in large serving bowl for presentation), then top with a sprinkle of Marcona almond and the Kite Hill Almond Ricotta. Finish with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
This is a salad best served pretty quickly after dressing. If you’d like to prepare components in advance to save time, you can do so and refrigerate until ready to serve. Don’t dress until the last minute.
