My Favorite Winter Salads
Sunny salads for colder days
Sure, winter is definitely a time to get cozy with carbs and comfort food. But peak citrus season paired with earthy vegetables like beets and kale also means that winter is a GREAT salad season.
Here’s the download on 3 of my favorite winter salads 👇
1. California Winter Salad (AKA radicchio and citrus)
I’ve been a longtime believer that the best part about winter (anywhere) is citrus season. In New York, sumos and cara caras flood grocery stores and blood oranges pop up on trendy restaurant menus. But in California, not only does winter mean citrus season at the farmers market but it also means chicory season.
Chicories are a family of oftentimes bitter greens including radicchio, escarole and endive as well as lesser known varieties like castlefranco and rosalba. When these come into season, I love pairing them with pieces of fresh citrus, sheep’s milk cheese, a toasty nut and a bright vinaigrette.
If I invite someone over to my house for a meal during winter, it’s nearly a guarantee that I’m serving this salad (IYKYK). While this salad was inspired by my time living in Los Angeles, Natoora helps bring this salad to life in NYC delivering consistently perfect radicchio and citrus.
2. Kale Harvest Salad
I love treating the components of this salad as a jumping off point to riff on endless variations using the same golden ratio. A roasted orange vegetable like sweet potato, delicata, honeynut, butternut squash or carrot, a bright and crispy fruit like apple or pomegranate, a creamy cheese like feta, goat or cheddar, some roasted nuts and a dijon shallot vinaigrette. Use whatever kind of squash is at the market, whichever apple variety speaks to you and any nut you have in your pantry. Adding a grain is optional but I think it helps amp up the coziness and make this vegetarian salad feel more like a meal.
A fall salad is a great meal prep staple. Dressed and composed, I think a kale salad is still great the next day (personal preference!). For extended use, store all ingredients like cooked farro, roasted squash and dressing separate and throw a salad together each day for lunch or dinner and you have a 3 minute lunch prepped for the full week.
3. Beet, Citrus and Avocado Salad
This salad is inspired by a combination of two of the oldest and most beloved books in my cookbook collection - Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden and Gjelina by Travis Lett.
To me, this salad is a celebration of winter citrus in one if its best combinations. This salad is great on its own but can also be served on a bed of greens or even over whipped ricotta (!!). It works for lunch or dinner alongside slow roasted salmon or whipped ricotta with fried bread, room temp or cold and is more so a jumping off point for how these ingredients play together, less so a prescriptive recipe.
I have loved all of these salads when you’ve made them for me!