My friend Lyn recently consulted me in her search for a new idea for a salad she could bring along to their Christmas dinner. I found this salad a winner, with its pomegranate and pecan flavours intrinsically linked to the festive season. The spinach travels well and holds its shape better and longer than lettuce will, so it is a perfect bring-along alternative when you're bored out of your mind with potato, pasta or rice salads.
This salad is a great side for your Christmas roast, but it is also a clever idea for using up your left-over turkey or chicken on Boxing Day. I must admit that we did not box any of it up to put on our front porch for the poor to pick up (which, I am told, is where the word "Boxing Day" originates), but I very much doubt that anyone would go looking for food outside people's houses these days anyway...
Boxing day salad of spinach, chicory, pomegranate and pecans
(serves 4 as a light lunch or 8 as a side)
250 g baby leaf spinach
2 heads chicory
100 - 150 g pecan nut halves
1 pomegranate
For the dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp walnut oil
2 tbsp balsamic cassis (or raspberry) vinegar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
crushed black pepper
4 pan-fried or roast chicken breasts (if serving as light lunch) - or use any turkey or chicken left-overs at hand
Combine the ingredients for the dressing thoroughly, in a blender or shaking them in a jam jar.
Wash and dry the spinach leaves thoroughly. Cut the chicory in 2-3 cm strips. Cut the pomegranate in half and pry out the pulp-encased seeds, removing any of the light-coloured membrane. Toast the pecans in a skillet without adding any oil. Combine everything in a salad bowl and pour over the dressing.
Serve with the chicken breasts or left-over turkey and some bread.
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