Healthy Recipe, Winter Salad with Fruits & Nuts

While you’re still in detox mode from the holidays, enjoy a rejuvenating salad full of the flavors of the season. Start with a bed of mixed greens, including watercress or dandelion greens, since dark-leaved lettuces are more nutrient-dense. Toss it together with a zesty maple-sweetened vinaigrette. You can feel indulgent and virtuous all at once. Serves 4-6. – Susan Puckett

Ingredients

Orange-Maple Dressing

·         ¼ cup fresh orange juice

·         1 teaspoon grated orange zest

·         2 tablespoons maple syrup

·         2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

·         2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         ¼ teaspoon black pepper

·         ¼ cup olive oil

Salad:

·         6 to 8 cups mixed lettuce leaves, chopped or torn if large (kale, spinach, watercress, arugula, baby romaine, dandelion greens, radicchio)

·         2 medium seedless oranges, peeled and thinly sliced and torn in sections

·         1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced

·         ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced (soak in ice water for 10 minutes or so to soften the bite if desired)

·         ½ cup broken pecans, toasted of desired

·         ½ cup crumbled feta cheese

·         1 cup pomegranate arils or dried cranberries

·         Flaky sea salt

Instructions

·         Make the dressing: Place the orange juice, zest, syrup, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a jar, cover with a lid, and shake well to combine. (

·         Make the salad: Place the greens in a large bowl. Top with the orange sections, avocado, onion slices, pecans, feta, and pomegranate. Drizzle with about half the dressing and toss gently. Serve with flaky sea salt and dressing on the side.

Susan Puckett is an Atlanta-based food writer and cookbook author.