Mixed Greens with Apples, Candied Pecans and Cranberry Vinaigrette
Author: Lemons & Anchovies
Recipe type: Salad
Here is a healthy way to use up those bags of cranberries from Thanksgiving.
Ingredients
For 1 cup of cooked, strained cranberries:
1 12-oz bag cranberries, fresh or frozen
½ cup granulated sugar
⅜ cup water
2 tablespoons orange juice or lemon juice (feel free to add another tablespoon or two to make it more tart...or reduce the sugar)
For the vinaigrette (see directions below for proportions):
Olive oil
Rice vinegar (a little sweeter but you can also sub red wine or cider vinegar)
salt, to taste
For the salad:
mixed greens
Feta cheese, cubed
Red onion, thinly sliced
Candied pecans (I use Trader Joe's but you can use any nuts)
Apple slices
Instructions
To prepare the cranberries:
Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the cranberries and cook over medium to medium-high heat until they pop, about 4-5 minutes. Add the juice and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pass the cooked cranberries to a sieve to separate the skin and seeds. This will yield 1 cup. Set aside.
To prepare the vinaigrette:
There is no strict rule here. Adjust the proportion of oil, vinegar and cranberries to your liking. I started with 2 tablespoons of cranberries to 4 tablespoons of vinegar and ¼ cup of oil. Taste as you go. As you can see from my pictures, mine was light on the vinegar and olive oil so I added more of both after taking these pictures. Whisk together to emulsify.
To assemble the salad:
Toss the vinaigrette with the mixed greens, onions, cheese, apples and nuts--plate and serve.
Recipe by Lemons + Anchovies at https://lemonsandanchovies.com/2012/11/mixed-greens-with-apples-candied-pecans-and-cranberry-vinaigrette/