Holiday Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
Salad:
- 6 ounces (3-4 cups) mixed salad greens
- 6 ounces (3-4 cups) chopped romaine
- 2 (11-ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained and oranges patted dry (see note)
- ½ to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (see note)
- ½ to 1 cup pomegranate arils (can sub dried cranberries or cherries)
- ½ to 1 cup candied pecans or walnuts (see note)
Dressing:
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar (see note)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Lightly toss all the salad ingredients together in a bowl (make sure the mandarin oranges are dried well).
- Whisk or blend the salad dressing ingredients together until well-combined.
- Drizzle the salad dressing over the entire salad and toss to combine OR serve the dressing on the side for individual servings.
Notes
Mandarin Oranges: in place of the canned mandarin oranges, you can slice and segment 2-3 small fresh mandarin oranges for the salad.
Feta Cheese: crumbling feta cheese from the block vs buying already crumbled feta is a game changer. It is worlds creamier and super delicious (most grocery stores carry it in the specialty cheese section).
Candied Pecans: my favorite recipe to use for the candied pecans is this oven-baked recipe - it is more foolproof than skillet recipes. I omit the cinnamon and add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a sweet/spicy kick. For a skillet version, I use the one from this romaine salad recipe. The pecans can be made a couple weeks in advance and stored in a tightly covered container.
Vinegar: my preference for the salad dressing is a light-colored vinegar like white balsamic or white wine vinegar (I've used a fruit-flavored white balsamic, too, with great results!). Red wine vinegar will also work.