Whenever I’m having company, one of my go-to’s is this salad. Well, not this salad exactly, but the method I used to create this salad. It’s not one that is particularly original, but it works every time, and is ALWAYS a hit, and as such, it is one I make often!
The method I use is always the same – lots of good quality leafy greens, red onion, either raw or roasted veggies (or both), nuts, and my tangy/sweet vinaigrette! (In the summer months I also love to add fresh fruit to this salad.) But for the Fall, it’s this autumn harvest salad.
The beauty of this salad method is that all of the ingredients can be improvised with whatever you like and have on hand. (I usually change up this salad and use the best quality ingredients for each season). You can use any leaves you like, any veggies you like, any nuts you like, and if you don’t have apple cider vinegar on hand, feel free to sub in red wine vinegar or even balsamic
As you can see, this salad is all about what you like. But as an example of how you can make an amazingly yummy salad for your thanksgiving table, here’s what I came up with!
Hope that you love this salad as much as I do!
- 1 sweet potato, diced
- Oil
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 8 cups spinach leaves
- 1 apple, thinly sliced
- 2 avocados, peeled and diced
- ½ small red onion, small dice
- ½ cup raw or sugared pecans, chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
- For the dressing:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- Kosher salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- On a large baking sheet, toss together the sweet potato, oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until fully cooked. Allow to cool slightly.
- Toss together the spinach leaves, sweet potato, apple slices, avocado, and red onion in a bowl. Transfer to a large platter and top with pecans, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds.
- To make the dressing, place all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.
- Lightly dress the salad and serve right away.
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