Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette

Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree

Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree
There are no new words to communicate how quickly this holiday season came upon us. There are even fewer words to relay how unprepared I am for the coming days of packing, travel and stretchy pants. And the internet knows far more than me about how to put your best bird forward, so I’ll spare you my attempt.

Instead, as has become habit of late, I’ll keep things on the short side (I’m actually working on a new pigtales piece that will exhaust whatever vocabulary I leave on the table in this post) and just drop this most colorful salad into your laps. Something to brighten what can often be an otherwise beige holiday table. Or something to greet you on the other side of decidedly beige weekend. (To be clear: beige in these references is not necessarily a bad thing. Gravy knows no bounds, and rightly so.)

I’ve so named this salad ultimate fall based on the foundation components, alone, but the dressing is truly something to behold, so I’ll start there. A hefty dose of turmeric, given away by the dressing’s beckoning golden hue, meets honey (or maple syrup), freshly squeezed tangerine juice, plenty of black pepper and just enough apple cider vinegar to impart discernible tang. It’s at once bright and refreshing, earthy and warm. Draped luxuriously over a bed of finely chopped romaine; a bounty of fall fruit (matchstick’d persimmons and apples + more tangerine); sharp, grassy herbs; and a confetti rainstorm of toasted almonds and tiny pom arils, it makes for Skittles’ famous mantra manifested in salad form.

Another way of looking at it — what with the cilantro, scallions, almonds, citrus and cold, crispy ribbons of romaine — is as a quasi-autumnal Chinese Chicken Salad. Minus the chicken, of course. Though I can only imagine how suitable a little leftover turkey topping would be. (Read: OH SO VERY.)

I hope to be back later this week with a few more holiday thoughts, but in case I’m tardy (and let’s face it, that’s all too possible), warm hugs and cheers for sharing this space. Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

xo,
Em

p.s. the best and simplest spicy, roasted cranberry compote from last year!
p.p.s. My fave mini-Thanksgiving in 60 from the P&Q archives!

Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree
Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree
Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree
Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree
Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree
Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree
Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette (via thepigandquill.com) #vegetarian #vegan #dairyfree

Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette
 
Prep time
Total time
 
By:
Makes: 4 large servings
Ingredients
  • For the Salad
  • 2 romaine hearts, chopped into ribbons
  • 4 small tangerines, peeled and segmented
  • 2 persimmons, sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 large apple, sliced into matchsticks
  • 2 large handfuls cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 2-3 scallions, finely sliced (green and white parts)
  • ¼ cup sliced, toasted almonds
  • ¼ cup pomegranate arils
  • For the Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Dressing
  • 2 oz tangerine juice
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 T apple cider
  • 1 T raw honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • pinch salt
Instructions
  1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a large glass jar and shake vigorously.
  2. Combine all salad ingredients and toss lightly with desired amount of dressing. (Basically, uh, assemble and dress salad.) Enjoy!
 

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7 Comments on “Ultimate Fall Chopped Salad with Honeyed Tangerine-Turmeric Vinaigrette”

  1. This’s what I want to stuff in my face instead of stuffing this t giv. And, yeah it did remind me of Chinese chicken salad my gma used to make! Yum n HUGS!

    1. Yessss, that’s what I had in mind! (Which makes me think of those healthy everything cookies she used to make for some reason. And ji. Gi? Gy? Jai?…) But really, Mir, don’t you still want the stuffing, too? I WANT IT ALL.

  2. i feel much less salad-y when it gets cold, so it has to be something super bright and refreshing, and not just spinach tossed in a bit of dressing. love all the fruit in here (though i thought the persimmons were carrots originally!).

    1. if you haven’t noticed, i like my salads with more stuff than greens. no lightly dressed spinach around these parts — in the fall or otherwise! 😉

  3. ok, i made this as a pre-thanksgiving accompaniment to a “we’re too lazy to cook on t giving eve so let’s order pizza night” and it was a SUPER hit! i doubled the recipe and skipped the apples since we also made applesauce and everyone was in awe of my salad assembling skills! THIS ONE IS SO GOOOD!

  4. Pingback: Oat-Free Coconut Almond Granola | Grain-Free + Vegan - the pig & quill

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