Festive Spinach, Bean, and Cranberry Salad
When Jordana suggested a festive recipe for December, one thing popped into my head: cranberries. Apart from loving a little sweetness in my salads, cranberries have such a festive vibe I had to include them.
But although this salad makes a perfect festive side dish, it’s also very good anytime, with BBQ meat, prawns, grilled tofu, grilled haloumi, or on a bed of brown lentils.
I like to make my recipes adaptable depending on what you have and what you like, so there are lot of ways to vary this:
If you don’t have dried cranberries you can use any fresh chopped berries or pomegranate seeds, or chopped stone fruit
Use any nuts you like
Use a mix of any green or leafy vegetables you like
If you don’t have cranberry sauce, maple syrup is good but reduce to 1tbsp
For more protein, add seeds, more nuts, hard-boiled eggs, or brown lentils
What’s great about the ingredients?
Leafy green vegetables contain antioxidants, vitamin K, vitamin A, folate and other B vitamins. Some contain omega-3 fatty acids.
Other green vegetables like broccolini, asparagus, beans and peas contain fibre, antioxidants, folate and other B vitamins, and beans and peas are good protein. Because these vegetables contain water-soluble vitamins, they’re best steamed to retain their nutrients.
Nuts are great sources of fibre, minerals, antioxidants and healthy fats.
Dried cranberries - all dried fruits - are good sources of antioxidants and fibre.
Festive spinach, bean and cranberry Salad
Makes: 4 large serves (or 6 as a side)
Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
150g leafy green vegetables - any combination of spinach, kale, rocket, or microgreens
300g non-leafy green veg - any mixture of broad beans, peas, green beans, broccolini, edamame or asparagus
60g chopped nuts - almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pinenuts, or any nuts you like
120g Greek feta, crumbled
60g dried cranberries
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
For the dressing (this will make a bit more than you need):
4tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2tbsp cranberry sauce or redcurrant jelly
1tbsp dijon mustard
What to do:
Steam the non-leafy green vegetables for 3 minutes. You want them to still be firm and crunchy. Remove from the steamer and briefly run under cold water to cool them. Set aside.
Arrange the leafy greens on your serving dish. Place the steamed vegetables on top, then scatter over the nuts, feta, cranberries, and mint.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together and adjust to your taste. If the flavour is too strong, add a little more oil. Drizzle over the salad just before serving. Enjoy!
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