Redeeming the salad as a delicious part of a holiday meal
Salad is the least loved side of holiday dinners, but it doesn’t have to be.
The problem with most of the salads served at holiday meals is they tend to lack inspiration and usually are made from lackluster ingredients. The focus typically is on the roast and heartier – and way more interesting – sides, such as scalloped potatoes and gravies and baked this-and-thats.
But a holiday dinner salad can be a bright, light counterpoint to the many heavier options on the table. The trick is to draw on seasonally appropriate ingredients that also are robust enough to stand up to the rest of the meal. In this case, we went with roasted beets and lightly charred citrus segments. Combined with nicely dressed greens, it’s a delicious redemption of the salad.
Stephanie Earls photographed Wednesday, September 4, 2013. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette