Winter Salad Recipe

This winter salad is a blend of mixed greens, oranges, pomegranate, feta cheese and candied pecans, all tossed in a homemade dressing. An easy and festive salad that is the perfect addition to any holiday menu!

If I’m making the menu for the holidays or weekends, I always include at least one salad for nutrition and to provide a lighter counterpart to the heavier main course options. This salad features a sweet and savory blend of fruit, cheese and nuts that ends up being the perfect flavor combination.

HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS SALAD?

This salad starts with small oranges such as tangerines or clementines, which are peeled and placed in a bowl of mixed greens along with feta cheese, candied pecans and pomegranate seeds. Make a homemade dressing with a few simple ingredients, then pour it over the salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately and enjoy!

TIPS FOR THE PERFECT SALAD

• You can use canned mandarin oranges, or any variety of fresh orange that is peeled and cut into segments. I prefer the fresh oranges as they have a better texture than the canned variety.
• I like to buy a block of feta cheese and crumble it myself. Pre-crumbled feta cheese often contains anti-caking agents and stabilizers, and it doesn’t have as good of a flavor in my opinion.
• You can buy candied pecans at the grocery store.
• When I’m looking to save on prep time, I buy a container of pomegranate seeds at the grocery store instead of removing the seeds from a whole pomegranate. I also get a tub of pre-washed greens to make life a little easier.

MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS

One of the most important features of a holiday salad is that it can be prepared in advance, because no one wants to be in the kitchen chopping produce on Christmas.

Feel free to make the salad dressing up to 3 days in advance. Just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it, then shake well and pour over the salad. The oranges and pomegranates can be prepped up to one day in advance.

When you’re ready to eat, simply place the ingredients in a bowl with the lettuce, add the dressing and serve.

FLAVOR VARIATIONS

This salad is fabulous as-is, but you can add other ingredients to make it your own.

• Fruit: Instead of oranges, try another cold weather fruit such as apples, pears or persimmons.
• Nuts: While I think the pecans go well with the flavors in the salad, other options include almonds, walnuts or even cashews. You can choose roasted or candied nuts, but I feel the candied nuts add a nice crunch and sweetness.
• Cheese: Swap out the feta for blue cheese, shaved parmesan, ricotta salata or small mozzarella balls.
• Add-Ins: Feel free to add other ingredients such as shaved fennel, red onions, avocado or dried cranberries.