Fresh Winter Salad
Skip to recipe
Salads are one of my favorite make-ahead dishes. After the holiday season, the last thing I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen, which makes this easy Fresh Winter Salad a great post-holiday dish. It is perfect for a healthy lunch, side or main dish when you are looking for something simple yet filling. It is also a great healthy option to counterbalance the abundance of desserts and comfort food that might be consumed during the holiday season.
This recipe contains so much more than your average salad, it is full of winter fruits and nuts like walnuts and cranberries. These ingredients not only look amazing with the many different textures, but taste refreshing when tossed all together. The best thing about this salad is that it is customizable to fit your own taste. If you don’t like certain ingredients, simply make substitutions to your preference.
Making the Dressing
The dressing was a fan favorite in the Cutco kitchen. Jokingly, we could have enjoyed it on its own but pairing the dressing with the salad made it so much better. Preparing the dressing is simple. First, mince one shallot using a 5" Petite Santoku and then measure out the remaining ingredients.
Once everything is prepped, combine all the dressing ingredients into a blender and puree them until smooth. Set it aside and start making the salad.
Make the Salad
Reach for a 6" Vegetable Knife to chop the baby bok choy.
For tips on how to cut baby bok choy, take a look at our simple step-by-step tutorial.
Using the same knife, chop half of a small head of broccoli and one cup of candied walnuts, and then shred four ounces of kale.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the kale, lemon juice and olive oil. Using your hands, massage the lemon juice and oil into the greens. It helps to tenderize the kale making it easier to chew and digest. Do this until the greens take on a deeper green color and appear slightly wilted.
Reach for your 4" Paring Knife to core and dice two medium Honeycrisp apples.
Add the chopped vegetables and the apple to the kale.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss until it is well combined. At this point, you’ve got yourself a pretty solid salad. You could stop here or you can make it even better with some additional toppings. For added flavor, sprinkle the top with walnuts, feta cheese, sweet potatoes and pomegranate arils. You can always make substitutions to your preferred taste or add in extra of what you love.
The flavors come together perfectly with a variety of both refreshing and crunchy textures in every bite. Once you’ve made this Fresh Winter Salad, trust me, you will be making it again. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
- 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
For the salad:
- 4 ounces shredded kale
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small head broccoli, chopped
- 1 baby bok choy, chopped
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 medium Honeycrisp apples, cored and diced
- 1 cup candied walnuts, chopped
- 5 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1 1/2 cup diced sweet potato, roasted
- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
Directions
- In a blender, combine all of the dressing ingredients and puree until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the kale, lemon juice and olive oil. Massage the lemon juice and oil into the greens, using your hands. This softens the fibers of the kale. The greens should take on a deeper green color and be slightly wilted.
- In the same bowl, add the chopped vegetables and apple.
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
- Sprinkle the walnuts, feta cheese, sweet potato and pomegranate arils over the top of the salad and serve.
Recommended Tools
