So much of Thanksgiving is ordered and planned like a ritual: The sweet potatoes, the turkey, the gravy. But what about the salad? Many Thanksgiving menus don't include a salad at all — a hot and gooey green bean casserole is the closest you get. But I think that a salad is a crucial element of a rich meal like the one we enjoy on Thanksgiving.
A fresh, crisp salad cleanses the palate and helps you appreciate those creamy potatoes even more. A salad also looks beautiful on a Thanksgiving buffet: Kale slaw with gleaming wedges of citrus really stands out, especially when nestled in between white potatoes and brown gravy! And it doesn't take long to throw together a great salad -- you can toss it, dress it, and plate it up at the last minute.
So, from a simple broccoli and currant salad, to a root vegetable slaw with orange-cumin dressing, and a gorgeous citrus salad to another with avocado and fennel, here are some of our all-time favorite winter salads to accompany the Thanksgiving feast.
KALE
• 1 Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing - My favorite autumn salad. The peanut dressing makes it taste so good.
• 2 Kale Salad with Blood Orange and Meyer Lemon - Kale shaved feather-thin and dressed with citrus juice. So festive!
• 3 Kale Salad with Apricots, Avocado and Parmesan - Another kale salad with sweet notes of apricots, and savory nibbles of avocado and cheese.
BROCCOLI
• 4 Broccoli Salad with Carrots and Currants - A hearty, simple salad.
• 5 Sexy, Spicy Broccoli - Broccoli marinated in sesame oil, garlic, and chili flakes. A great way to wake up your meal!
CITRUS
• 6 Avocado and Grapefruit Salad - Delicious and refreshing. Looks beautiful when plated up before the meal.
• 7 Celery and Grapefruit Salad with Parmesan - Crunchy and juicy. Probably the most refreshing salad I know.
• 8 Fennel, Beet, and Orange Salad - A trio of winter ingredients, all together.
ROOT VEGETABLES
• 9 Root Vegetable Slaw With Orange-Cumin Dressing - Bright and zesty.
• 10 Quick Celery Root Salad with Capers and Lemon - Tart, crispy, and beautiful.
• 11 Cabbage Beet Coleslaw - A showstopper of a salad!
• 12 Fennel and Radicchio Winter Salad with Pecans - Balanced, refreshing, and nutty.
Are you serving a salad with Thanksgiving dinner? If so, what are you planning?
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Comments (8)
Some great ones here. I'm making a salad with arugula, roasted beets, oranges and hazelnuts.
I like to make a salad just like Cathy's, except it's arugula, roasted beets, diced apple, goat cheese, pecans, black pepper, and a light, sesame vinaigrette. I could eat it from a trough. I may or may not know this from experience.
I also love Heidi Swanson's raw kale salad (sans breadcrumbs) over at 101 Cookbooks.
Bad Mama Genny
I kind of wish I had seen this before, but I've already committed to making a kale salad with swiss chard, pomegranate seeds, and hazelnuts, with a pomegranate molasses based dressing. Yum!
My 91 year old friend is bringing her famous 'Margaret's Pea Salad'. It would not be Thanksgiving if she did not come and bring this delicious salad of pea, black olives, pimento, jicama or water chestnuts, onions and dressing.
My new fave is a kale salad (make sure the kale is really finely chopped!) with pomegranate seeds, fennel, toasted sunflower seeds, and a garlic balsamic vinaigrette (oil, white balsamic, salt, garlic).
it's so, so good.
I make a dish similar to the broccoli-currant salad, using raw veggies, chopped in a small dice: broccoli heads and peeled stalks, dried cranberries instead of currants, carrots and red onion. Then I add roasted, salted sunflower seeds.
The sweet-sour dressing is made with equal parts of mayo and plain yogurt dressing, with honey, rice vinegar and fresh-squeezed orange juice, plus white pepper and salt to taste. Toss everything together and chill several hours or overnight. It's a pretty forgiving recipe; the only kind I like!
Just before serving, for sheer indulgence and extra crunch, I like to toss it with some freshly cooked and crumbled bacon. But, it is just as tasty without.
Fennel, red onion, and orange with a light mustard seed dressing.
"Red slaw" with red cabbage, red onion, red apple , toasted black sesame seeds and an ume plum dressing.
Definitely going to try many of these!
My personal favorite salad is arugula, fennel, beets, grapefruit, toasted pecans, shaved parmesan, and a simple lemon/ olive oil dressing. A sprinkle of chopped fresh mint takes it from yummy to sublime.
Maybe I'll try it with fresh kale...