Recipe: Fruity winter salad with maple-mustard vinaigrette
Persimmon and mandarin slices add pop to this winter salad.
Debbie Arrington
Orange-hued fruit – particularly mandarins and persimmons – take the place of tomatoes in my winter salads. They add sweet and juicy contrast to crunchy greens. Their cheery flavors and colors also brighten gloomy cold days.
This salad combines shaved Brussels sprouts and spinach with fuyu persimmon and mandarins. Dried cherries and chopped pecans add more flavor and crunch. Holding all these tastes and textures together is an equally flavorful maple-mustard vinaigrette.
For this salad, choose a round apple-like Fuyu persimmon (not a pointy Hachiya) that’s still relatively firm.
Fruity winter salad
Makes 2 large or 4 small servings
Ingredients:
1 cup Brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed
2 cups spinach, torn by hand
1 large Fuyu persimmon, cored and peeled
2 mandarins, peeled and separated into wedges
¼ cup dried cherries
¼ cup chopped pecans
For vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
With a sharp knife or mandoline, slice Brussels sprouts into thin crosswise slices. Slice persimmon into thin wedges. Remove any seeds from mandarin wedges.
In a large bowl, combine shaved Brussels sprouts, torn spinach, sliced persimmon, mandarin wedges, dried cherries and chopped pecans.
Make vinaigrette. In a jar, combine all vinaigrette ingredients. Cover and shake.
Add vinaigrette to salad ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently and serve.
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Dig In: Garden Checklist
For week of March 19:
Spring will start a bit soggy, but there’s still plenty to do between showers:
* Fertilize roses, annual flowers and berries as spring growth begins to appear.
* Watch out for aphids. Wash off plants with strong blast from the hose.
* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.
* Prepare summer vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.
* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to fight blossom blight.
* Feed citrus trees as they start to blossom.
* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.
* Seed and renovate the lawn (if you still have one). Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.
* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and kale.
* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground.
* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.
* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.
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