Final Fall and Start of Winter Salads

Posting a salad recipe on the eve of December feels a little like blasphemy or at least like rubbing in the undeniable fact we all overate last week. But I thought I’d sneak in two very easy salads before we completely give up on raw greens. 

These recipes can be seen more as the building blocks of a salad, with infinite variations and endless possibilities. Fruit, nuts, cheese and greens. Choosing one in each category has yet to fail me. You can beef up the salad with hearty extra additions, such as beets or grilled chicken, to make a healthily delicious main dish or keep it to the four basics for a very impressive side. I firmly believe in only one rule: go light on the salad dressing. The beauty of fruit in a salad is that the fruit adds its own natural juiciness. 

These are transition salads from fall to winter. One perfect while grocery stores still sell a few good apples and the other ripe for building excitement for the beginning of winter’s citrus celebration. Bright oranges, clementines, and grapefruit always remind me of the sun’s warm rays even while in the midst of a snow storm. 

Apple + Feta + Walnut Salad

Serves 2 as main dish, 4 as side

1 head of green leaf lettuce (I went simple, but spinach, arugula or a mixed green salad could easily work with the below ingredients.*) 

2 large apples, chopped into roughly one inch cubes

About 4 ounces feta cheese

About ¾ cup walnuts

1. Wash lettuce. Tear into bite size pieces and dry with paper towels. Place in bowl. Top with apples, feta cheese and walnuts.

Orange + Feta + Walnut Salad

Serves 2 as main dish, 4 as side

1 head of green leaf lettuce (*see above) 

1 large orange

About 4 ounces feta cheese

About ¾ cup walnuts

1. Wash lettuce. Tear into bite size pieces and dry with paper towels. Place in bowl. 

2. Peel orange and break into sections. Remove white membrane from sections, by peeling skin away from each section. Cut into bite size pieces. Top lettuce with oranges, cheese and nuts.