I have the perfect salad for your Friendsgiving table, Thanksgiving celebration, or any other occasion this season. Enter my Fall Harvest Salad with kale, beets, pomegranate and more! This salad is the perfect side or starter, and even hearty enough to be a main dish.
Since this is an autumn and Thanksgiving inspired dish, I use seasonal ingredients. For the base I went with a mix of tuscan (lacinato) kale and mixed greens. To that I add cooked and chilled quinoa, roasted golden beets, pomegranate arils (aka seeds), toasted hazelnuts & sunflower seeds, and almond “ricotta”.
And the best part is the dressing ~ a tangy maple-mustard vinaigrette, which comes together in less than five minutes. It’s a super quick and easy recipe with just a few ingredients, most of which you likely already have on hand.
It calls for minced shallot, stone-ground mustard (I like Organicville mustard), maple syrup, olive oil, s & p. You can whisk it in a bowl or shake it up in a jar. And you ca even double or triple the recipe to keep extra on hand for a few days.
Grainy mustard is the key to this dressing
For the greens green curly kale or tuscan kale work equally well. The tuscan kale has a more kale-y flavor and denser texture than the curly. And I like to add in some tender baby lettuces for texture variation. Not a kale fan? Sub baby spinach or chopped romaine.
And if you’ve never had grains in a salad this salad is a good intro. Cooked and chilled quinoa works great here, and so would wild rice or farro.
Serve this as a side at your holiday table
Roasted beets add sweetness to the salad. I like the golden beets for color, but ruby red beets are great, too. Sub butternut squash or roasted carrots if you’re not crazy about beets.
How do you roast beets?
Chop off the greens and stems (or buy loose beets), give the beets a good scrub to clean, then wrap tightly in foil. Bake at 400° until tender, anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the size of the beets. Peel with a paper towel while still warm for easy removal of the skins.
The pomegranate seeds add beautiful color and a sweet crunch to the salad. Chopped fresh apple would be a good sub if you can’t find pomegranate.
For the nuts and seeds it was a touch choice, because so many would be delish in this salad. Ultimately I decided on hazelnuts and sunflower seeds, but go with any of the below to mix it up.
Nuts and seeds that are delish in this Harvest Salad:
- hazelnuts
- almonds
- walnuts
- pecans
- cashews
- pistachios
- sunflower seeds
- pumpkin seeds
Whichever combo you use, be sure to toast them for best flavor! The easiest way to do so is to bake at 350° for 8 – 10 minutes.
If you make this recipe be sure to comment below and tag me on Instagram. I’d love to know what you think!
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| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 1 tbsp shallot minced
- 1 tbsp vinegar such as sherry or balsamic
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp grainy mustard
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 cups chopped kale and/or mixed greens packed
- 2 golden beets roasted, peeled and chopped (see blog post)
- 1/2 cup cooked and cooled quinoa optional
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts chopped
- 1/2 cup plant-based cheese, such as Kite Hill ricotta optional
Ingredients
Vinaigrette ingredients
Salad ingredients
|
|
- in a small bowl whisk vinaigrette ingredients, season to taste with salt and pepper; alternatively, shake ingredients in a small jar to emulsify
- to prepare salad, place greens in a large bowl and massage part of dressing in and let marinate a few minutes
- top greens with remaining ingredients, drizzle with more of the vinaigrette and serve
Recipe serves 2 as a side or 1 as a main
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com