Red and Green Holiday Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
Well, the countdown is on - we have 30 people (my husband is one of 11) coming to our house for Christmas dinner and remarkably, I'm not in full on panic mode (that was reserved to the first year after we were married when hubby said he's like to take over hosting Christmas after moving into our 3 bedroom/1 bath house.)
Thankfully, now I realize that the amount of space and the perfectly decorated house is so not what matters. It's actually good to have so many family members be under one roof this time of year - this is a fun crowd. Everyone chips in and brings a dish and there's always plenty of amazing food. My sisters-in-law are all awesome cooks (and the brothers-in-law can make some mean desserts, too.)
This salad is a version of what one of my sisters-in-law brings every year - bursting with red and green colors. You can swap in your favorite seasonal fruits and greens as this honey vinaigrette goes great with everything. Here's what I used:
Reds: pomegranate seeds, apples, cherries, red onion
Greens: arugula, spinach, pears, mint, pistachios, greenish 🙂 blue cheese
Red & Green Holiday Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This red & green salad is perfect for the holidays featuring seasonal fruits & veggies with a honey vinaigrette. It's easy to make for a few or a big crowd!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 6 cups mixed greens (baby spinach, arugula, romaine)
- Half of small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red or green apple, thinly sliced
- 1 red or green pear, thinly sliced
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- â…“ cup pistachios
- â…“ cup gorgonzola crumbles
- ÂĽ cup fresh mint, torn
For the vinaigrette:
- ÂĽ cup canola oil (or other neutral flavored oil)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate or apple juice
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Add all of the salad ingredients together in a big serving bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, honey and juice. Mix in salt and pepper to taste.
- Right before serving. pour vinaigrette over salad and toss gently.
Do you have a traditional holiday or favorite winter salad?
Wow that looks really good!!
I love red and green salads, too, so pretty. I like your version with some special things I had never thought of adding to my salad, like pistachio and mint. You are so right that a fun party is not about the perfect house-- I always try to get ready, but once the house has a certain number of guests having fun they are certainly not looking at the floor or forgotten dusty spots or all the other things that I try to hit in the days before the party.
It took marrying into my husband's large family to let go of the cleaning/perfection gene 🙂 BTW, your Bibb, Roasted Beet Salad sounds divine!
Loving the flavors and colors in this salad for Christmas.