Life

7 Salads For Eating Fresh, Even In Winter

by Food52

Feb. 24, 2015

Salad shouldn't be an obligation or an afterthought — and it doesn't always have to be kale, either. Every other Thursday, Elizabeth Stark from Brooklyn Supper will help you make salads you actually want to eat. Today: Just because it's -10° F with windchill and you've come down with flu-like symptoms doesn't mean you have to be vegetable-deprived, too. Here's how to get your fix of fresh produce — even in the darkest months.

Seasonal eating is never so tough as in winter, and it's natural to want to give up and restrict yourself to a diet of bread and melted cheese until spring peas show up. But fresh food, even in deepest winter, just takes a little planning. And besides, salad is a great complement to cheesy bread of all kinds.

There are a few key strategies to making a memorable salad in the colder months:

Start your salad by gathering some hardy mainstays like kale or chard, or some unexpected interlopers like endive, fennel, or brussels sprouts.
Then, load up on citrus: Not only is it sweet and delicious, but it also takes the bitter edge off of winter greens.
When citrus fails, try bacon — smoky richness is always on point — or a creamy dressing.
Finally, layer crunchy and chewy ingredients like thinly sliced vegetables, apples, toasted nuts and seeds, grains, or dried fruit.

7 Salads For Eating Fresh, Even In Winter

1. Rainbow Chard and Wild Rice Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette

2. Citrus Salad with Shaved Fennel, Celery, and Cilantro-Yogurt Dressing

3. Shaved Vegetable Salad with Apples and Lemony Tahini Dressing

4. Endive with Bacon and Buttermilk Ranch

5. Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon, Meyer Lemon, and Tart Dried Cherries

6. Roasted Pear and Rainbow Chard Salad

7. Napa Cabbage Wedge Salad with Apples and Buttermilk Dressing