Wonderful Winter Salads

A good recipe never expires, so we’re sharing these gems from Jason LaFrance’s 2014 Spring Conference class, Wonderful Winter Salads.

Harvest Salad

Roasted root vegetables (beets and butternut squash) with arugula, fresh julienned apples, pistachios, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and a cranberry chipotle vinaigrette

• ½ Butternut squash, medium diced and roasted

• 2 large beets, peeled medium diced and roasted

• 6oz Arugula

• 1 Granny Smith apple peeled, cored and julienned

• 4 tbsp pistachio nuts

• 2 tbsp dried cranberries

• 1 tbsp goat cheese

  Cranberry Chipotle Vinaigrette

• 1 cup dried cranberries

• 1 cup cranberry juice

• 1 cup champagne vinegar

• 3 cups olive oil

• 4 chipotle peppers
  

  Roast the root veggies, then cool and refrigerate them. When cool, toss the veggies together and sprinkle them around the edges of the arugula in a bowl. Place the apple in the center of the salad, then sprinkle the cranberries and goat cheese over it. Drizzle the cranberry chipotle vinaigrette over the salad.

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 Pear Salad with Winter Greens

Orange port poached pear with turnip and beet greens, blue cheese, spiced pistachios, and a sour cherry gastrique

• 2 bosc pears, peeled and cored

• 3oz winter greens (turnip and beet)

• 2oz blue cheese crumbles

• ¼ cup spice roasted pistachios

• 1 cup orange juice

• 1 cup port wine

• 1 carrot

• ½ turnip

  Sour Cherry Gastrique

• 2 cups pitted tart cherries plus juices

• 2 cups sugar

• 1½ cups red wine

• 1½ cups red wine vinegar
  
  

  Peel, core, and quarter the pears. Combine port and orange juice and bring to a slow boil. Turn heat to simmer and add pears. Poach pears until fork tender, turning often. Set pear quarters aside. Peel and julienne carrot and turnip. Blanch in salted boiling water until crispy tender (about 3 to 4 minutes). Place winter greens in a shallow serving dish. Arrange pear quarters around the bowl, with a small pile of carrots and turnips between each quarter. Sprinkle pistachios and blue cheese over the salad, then drizzle with gastrique.
  

  For the gastrique, rough chop the pitted cherries. Combine all ingredients, then simmer until the liquid is reduced by 2/3 and the liquid can coat the back of a spoon—this takes about 20 minutes. Serve the sauce warm or cold.

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Pickled Green Bean Anti-Pasta with Cauliflower, Sweet Peppers, and Croutons

Spicy pickled green bean anti-pasta with cauliflower, carrots, roasted bell peppers, cream cheese and focaccia croutons

• 2 cups spicy pickled green beans

• 1 cup cauliflower florets

• 4 large carrots, peeled and medium diced

• 1 red, green, and yellow bell pepper

• ¼ cup cream cheese

• 1 to 2 sandwich-sized portions of focaccia bread

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup finely chopped rosemary

• ¼ cup finely chopped oregano

• Salt and pepper to taste
  

  Roast the bell peppers in the oven or stovetop until tender and the pepper collapses. Place in a container and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, then run peppers under cool water, peeling and rinsing off skin. Cut out the core and seeds of peppers and trim the ribs. Julienne the bell peppers. Blanche the cauliflower until it is fork-tender. When cream cheese is at room temperature, combine all ingredients, except croutons, in a bowl and toss with herbs, oil, salt, and pepper until lightly coated and the mixture has a creamy texture. Place croutons on top of the salad when served.