Jeweled Winter Salad

One of my favorite things about winter is its ability to bring some very special produce to the table that can be hard to get your hands on during other times of year. Some of the best are pomegranates and all the sweet and zesty citrus that begin to pop up in the supermarket; from cute little mandarins to puckery grapefruit to the wild buddah’s hand to juicy blood oranges.

This salad highlights sweet and crunchy pomegranate arils and those deep ruby colored blood oranges. Throw in some kale and walnuts, and you are looking at one seriously nutrient and antioxidant packed salad. On top of that I really love this whole combo because it is such a great balance between savory, sweet, nutty, acidic, and rich. So, here we have the best of both worlds; great nutrition and great taste! All the better that it’s made of incredibly flavorful seasonal produce too. This is a great salad to brighten any winter meal, from a quick lunch to a beautiful dish to bring to a dinner. Hope you enjoy!

Jeweled Winter Salad

Makes 1 bigger salad or 2 smaller salads

Juice of half an orange or blood orange (~2 tbs. juice)

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

Big pinch flaky salt

Few grinds fresh black pepper

3 cups (60g)  kale, shredded or torn into bite size pieces (can use curly or flat leaf kale)

½ orange or blood orange, peeled and cut into segments or slices

⅓ cup (60g) pomegranate arils, from about ¼ pomegranate

2 tbs. (15g) walnuts, toasted and in pieces

2 tbs. (22g) goat cheese, crumbled

Combine orange juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a medium to large bowl. 

Add in the kale and massage with hands. Really get in there and rub the kale between your hands to to tenderize and season well.

Top with the orange slices, pomegranate, walnuts and goat cheese. Toss salad to mix evenly.

This salad is best eaten immediately to enjoy its freshness.