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Autumn Orchard Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Pecans

Yep, I’m the psycho that brings salad to Thanksgiving. If your holiday is anything like ours, there’s not a lot of fresh and light on the table. A salad definitely fits the bill, and if you’re going to serve a salad on Thanksgiving, it better be a wow. This one solves all of those problems!
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Course: Soups and Salads
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 4 cups spring mix
  • 1 large apple cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 small red onion thinly sliced
  • 4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola feta or chèvre works well here as well
  • 1 cup pecan halves toasted (you can buy these toasted, or toast in oven for 5 minutes or so at 400)
  • 1 cup low or no sugar dried cranberries
  • 1 cup or 1 medium sweet potato, cubed
For the dressing:
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey not pancake syrup
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Toss sweet potato with 1 tbs olive oil, and spread on a baking sheet. Roast until just soft and slightly browned. About 20-25 minutes.
  3. Whisk the dressing ingredients together. Drizzle over the salad and serve, with any extra dressing offered on the side.
  4. Layer all the salad ingredients, minus the dressing , in a large bowl, just before serving.

Notes

Options to adjust:

If you’re short on time, skip the sweet potatoes, but they really do make it delicious!
Sub blue cheese with goat or feta if you prefer.
Pretoasted nuts (from Trader Joes or any store) work great, and I love it with the slightly spiced ones too!
No pecans? Pumpkin seeds are also delicious here.

No Brown Apple Hack:

If you want to keep your apples from turning brown in your salad (or anywhere) here are a couple of ways to prevent that.
Soak your sliced apples in 2 cups of water with 1/4 tsp salt for 1-3 minutes, then rinse. (Don’t leave them for longer, because salty apples are probably not going to be a hit.) Alternatively, you can use 2 tbs honey dissolved in 1 cup of water for the same effect.

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