This colorful salad contributes both eye appeal and delicious flavors to a Thanksgiving menu. It showcases the sweet tartness of fresh oranges teamed with cooked beets, pomegranate seeds, red onions, and a simple vinaigrette. Garnish with a little crumbled goat cheese if you like.
Navel oranges work well in the mix, but if you can find them, use either Cara Cara oranges or blood oranges. To save time and not sacrifice flavor, use boxed, ready-to-use cooked beets that are generally sold in a supermarket’s produce section.
Thanksgiving Salad
Yield: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
3 fresh oranges
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 small red onion, thinly slices, rings separated
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves
3 to 4 medium cooked beets, peeled, sliced
1 cup pomegranate seeds
Optional garnish: Handful of microgreens
Optional garnish: Crumbled chilled goat cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Remove zest (colored portion of peel) from 1 orange and mince; set aside. Use a sharp knife to remove skin from all the oranges; to peel, slice off top and bottom of each orange to expose flesh, then place cut side down on work surface and cut off peel and pith in strips, cutting from top to bottom following the contour of the fruit. Cut oranges into slices about 3/8-inch thick.
2. Prepare vinaigrette: In a small bowl or glass measuring cup with a handle, combine zest, vinegar, and salt; stir to dissolve salt. Whisk in oil. Add onion and basil. Stir and taste; adjust seasoning if needed.
3. Arrange beet slices in single layer on 6 salad plates or a platter. Top with orange slices, arranging them in a single layer so that part of beet slices show. Stir vinaigrette and spoon over beets and oranges. Top with pomegranate seeds. If desired, garnish with microgreens and optional cheese garnish.
Source: “Melissa’s Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce” by Cathy Thomas
Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “Melissa’s 50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.