Author Notes
The combination of flavors in this salad is out of this world! It’s fruity, tarty, crunchy, and sweet – all at the same time! It’s like a fruit salad, but with a big savory side coming from spinach and Gorgonzola cheese. Colorful pomegranates with their distinctive sweet-tart flavor, fruit and hazelnuts make this salad look so festive, I will be serving it this Christmas! This recipe was adapted from and inspired by Rainbow Chopped Salad recipe from Epicurious.com Here are the changes I made to the original recipe: I am using spinach instead of romaine hearts. I used balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, because I prefer balsamic vinegar in a salad dressing. I omitted shallots in the dressing, omitted red cabbage (don’t like either in a fruit salad) and decided not to coarsely chop hazelnuts but keep them whole, for more crunch. Also, instead of blue cheese, I am using Gorgonzola cheese, which in my experience is milder and suits salads much better than blue cheese. —JuliasAlbum
Ingredients
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5 cups
chopped spinach
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1
Fuji apple, cored, diced
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1
Asian pear, cored, diced
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1
mango, peeled, diced
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1/2 cup
whole hazelnuts, toasted, husked
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1/2 cup
pomegranate seeds
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1/3 cup
Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
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1/4 cup
Balsamic vinegar
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1/4 cup
olive oil
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1 teaspoon
honey
Directions
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To assemble dry ingredients: In a large salad bowl, combine chopped spinach, diced apple, diced pear, diced mango, whole toasted and husked hazelnuts, and pomegranate seeds. Mix all ingredients well.
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To make salad dressing: in a separate small mixing bowl, whisk balsamic vinegar with olive oil and honey until emulsified.
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Add dressing to the salad and toss until well mixed. Place salad on individual plates. Top with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.
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Note: This salad keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of days, without dressing mixed in.
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