A light and crispy salad with a blend of refreshing greens and ingredients makes an appetizing dish. Fresh leafy greens with a combination of tasty salad ingredients create a savory salad to try out throughout the cool seasons. Mixed greens with fresh apples and topped with sliced almonds and freshly made vinaigrette dressing is a delightful salad blend to make at home.
Leafy Green Salads
Salads are generally popular dishes during the fall and wintertime. Many healthy and flavorful greens are in season throughout the fall season, including kale, mustard greens, spinach, and Swiss chard, which are considered superfood greens. Leafy greens are known as highly nutritious vegetables that make a healthy salad to enjoy in the fall and winter.
Fall and winter salads can be made differently from other seasonal salads. A variety of traditional fall salad ingredients are used, such as greens, apples, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, crumbled cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It is nice to make and try out a combination of these tasty ingredients in fall salads.
Mixed Greens Apple Almond Salad & Vinaigrette Dressing
Spring leafy greens are a blend of greens that includes baby lettuce, chard, spinach, and leaves. This mixed green apple almond salad includes spring leafy greens, red apple, red onion, crumbled blue cheese, sliced almonds, and vinaigrette dressing.
The vinaigrette salad dressing offers a great amount of flavor to this salad. They are also popular fall and winter salad dressings. Various brands of vinaigrette dressings are often available at supermarkets. Homemade vinaigrette dressing is a great option to make at home. Oil and vinegar are the base ingredients that include mustard and seasoning. This is one salad I assembled with ingredients that I like and that are commonly used during the fall and winter.
Walnuts and Almonds for Winter Salads
Walnuts are a common and popular nut choice to add to fall and winter salads. It is a type of nut that pairs well with a variety of salads. In addition, it is a versatile nut used in other dishes besides salads. The texture can be described as crunchy with a mild and earthy taste.
Almonds
Almonds are also popular in the fall and winter and are a great alternative to walnuts. It is often classified as a nut that is crunchy with a nutty flavor. Almonds are also a great addition to salads; this provides a crunchy and tasty salad. Sliced almonds are an excellent option for salads that add a slightly sweet, mild flavor with a crispy texture to the salads.
Fresh almonds can be sliced at home by heating them and then carefully cutting the almonds. A convenient alternative is buying sliced almonds at the store. Many supermarkets have a variety of packaged sliced almonds for sale. I often prefer sliced almonds to walnuts. Almonds and walnuts can be very crunchy. I like the crispy texture of sliced almonds. I bought a package of Great Value sliced almonds. This was a great addition to this leafy green salad.
Mixed Greens Apple Almond Ingredients
Spring Mix Greens: The star ingredient for this tasty salad! A fresh, mild, slightly sweet flavor with a soft and crispy texture. Alternatives: spinach leaves, chard, or watercress.
Apple: A fresh apple has a nice balance of natural sweetness and juicy crunch for the salad.
Red Onion: Adds a mild, lightly sweet, and crunchy texture. Alternative: sweet onion
Crumble Blue Cheese: Crumbly soft cheese with creamy texture and mildly sharp flavor. Alternative: crumbled feta cheese.
Sliced Almonds: A great topping to garnish over salads that have a nutty, mild flavor and crispy texture.
Salad Dressing
Olive Oil: Adds a mild nutty flavor and is smooth in texture. Alternative: avocado, sunflower, or walnut oil.
Red Wine Vinegar: A hint of fruity flavor yet with a blend of sharp and sour taste. Alternative: white wine vinegar.
Dijon Mustard: Sharp, strong, and tangy in flavor with a creamy texture that adds a bold flavor to the salad dressing. Alternative: spicy brown sugar.
Honey: Light fruity flavor gives the salad dressing a hint of sweetness. Alternative: agave
Salt: Adds a pinch of salty taste to the salad dressing.
Ground Black Pepper: Add a pinch of an earthy and sharp taste.
Mixed Greens Apple Almond Salad Instructions
Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
- In a small bowl, add the salad dressing ingredients: olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Mix all the ingredients until combined.
Apple and Onion
Cut the onion into half-moon slices. Cut the apple into cubes.
Assemble the Salad Bowl
- In a bowl, add the mixed leafy greens.
- Then add the sliced onions, apples, sliced almonds, and crumbled blue cheese. Add the homemade vinaigrette dressing.
- Gently combine all the ingredients and dressing until completely combined.
- Garnish with additional blue cheese and sliced almonds.
Storage
The assembled mixed green apple almond salad can be stored in a glass container or an airtight container in the refrigerator. The leafy greens and the salad ingredients can also be stored separately.
Vinaigrette Dressing
Products such as olive oil and vinegar are base ingredients for many homemade vinaigrette dressings that are stored at room temperature. The combination of the added ingredients with oil and vinegar is a good option to keep the dressing cool in the refrigerator. Homemade vinaigrette salad dressing can be refrigerated in an airtight jar or container.
Thoughts
Seasonal salads are refreshing and a delightful blend of seasonal and unique ingredients. These types of salads are great to make when certain ingredients are in season. I often like trying and making new types of salads during fall and winter seasons when cool season ingredients are commonly used for seasonal salads. The fresh blend of mixed greens, fruits, nuts, and a light and freshly made vinaigrette dressing is a wonderful fusion of a savory mixed greens salad.
0 Comments