Richard Walker
B.Sc
Calgary, Alberta
Holiday Recipe: Castle Leslie Christmas Salad
A client of ours owns a castle in Ireland and during a visit one December, my wife and I were invited to join our host at a festive dinner in the castle dinning hall.
Amongst the roasts and bowls of steaming vegetables, a crispy Christmas salad stole my attention.
Salad is an oft forgotten part of the Christmas dinner, but here’s a crisp, easy salad to make that features the holiday flavours of toasted nuts, sweet cranberry, and tangy oranges.
Salad
To a bowl of fresh, mixed greens add a cup of orange sections*, toasted almond slivers*, and dried cranberries*. Knock it up to “Castle quality” by adding a 1/4 cup of shaved fennel and curls of aged Parmesan.
Dressing
- To 1/2 cup of frozen orange juice concentrate, add 1/4 cup of EV Olive oil; a tablespoon each of vinegar* and Dijon mustard, a teaspoon of sugar*, and a wee bit of salt*. Wizz together until emulsified.
- Keep everything in the fridge until dinner, then dress the salad and leave out on the buffet with serving tongs.
- *Options to kick it up to “Fit for a Lord or Lady”… Use blood orange or mandarin sections ; Soak the dried cranberries in gin or cranberry cocktail before using; substitute toasted pine nuts for the almonds; Use white Balsamic vinegar; Switch honey for the sugar; and Use Anchovy paste instead of salt to get an Umami thing happening.
Bon appetite and Merry Christmas (or as they say in Ireland “Ith do leòr and Nollaig Shona”)