Sunday, November 14, 2021

Ultimate Fall Salad (build your own!)


wI looooove me a good arugula salad.  In fact, if you scroll through my Instagram over the last few years there is no shortage of arugula salad photos in case you’re ever jonesin’ to look at one.  I have several different combinations of ingredients I use: olives, capers, tomatoes, sunflower seeds..... all kinds of things.  But two ingredients are almost always present no matter what: red onion and beets.  They pair so beautifully with arugula I can’t eat it without it!  Today I wanted to share with you one of my many variations: the Fall Arugula Salad.

 

This version makes me think of my friend/ former coworker, Maddie.  She knew my affinity for arugula salads and made a similar salad for lunch one day and shared it with me.  She even made sure I had enough of each ingredient on my plate, digging back into the bowl and giving me more of something if needed so I would always have “the perfect bite.” Now that’s a quality friend for ya!

 

This recipe is actually not much of a recipe.  The only measurements I actually give are for the apple cider vinegar dressing.  The rest is just the salad components and substitutions you can use.  Feel free to mix and match as you want and use a lot or a little of anything.  Make it your own!





 

Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

 

3/8 cup light tasting olive oil (or other neutral oil)

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. maple syrup (you can add more if you like a sweeter dressing)

A couple grinds of black pepper

 

Whisk all the ingredients together well to emulsify or add all ingredients to a small jar and shake to combine (my preferred method)

 

Other Ingredients


Arugula- I really like the peppery bite of arugula. It has so much flavor!  You can sub spinach or spring mix if you’d prefer, it just won’t pack as much flavor.

Sweet potato- My salad had fresh sweet potatoes that I cubed and roasted but even crisped up frozen sweet potato fries that you chop up would work great too! You can also use another roasted squash like butternut.

Beets- Red or golden. Fresh or canned/jarred.  Plain or pickled.  Any kind of beet will work here.  Canned beets are a staple in my house.  They have great texture and earthiness.  A little too earthy for your taste?  Try them pickled.

Red Onion- Red onion is my favorite for eating raw.  It gives a nice zip without being quite as overwhelming as a white or brown onion.  Very thinly sliced or shaved with a peeler is the way to go.  Nice and thin so you aren’t chomping down on a giant chunk and dispersed more evenly throughout the salad

Goat Cheese- Goat cheese is the GOAT for this type of salad (see what I did there?) It has a slight bit of tang and it’s SUPER creamy.  It’s perfection with the beets and arugula.  I opted for the crumbles but you can also buy the logs and chunk it up yourself.  You could substitute feta if necessary, but actual goat cheese (often labeled chevre) is optimal.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds- A lot of my arugula salads contain sunflower seeds, but for Fall it is all about the pumpkin seeds! I buy them preroasted and salted for ease.  They add a nice crispy crunch.

Toasted Pecans- Yep...I went double the crunch in this salad.  It has both a seed and a nut, but they offer two different things.  The pumpkin seeds are a crispy type of crunch and the pecans are a hearty kind of crunch.  They hit different.  Plus, toasting the pecans brings out the flavor that make you think of Fall.

 

I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do.  It really gives you all the Fall feels (well, as much as a salad can lol)

 one.  I have several different combinations of ingredients I use: olives, capers, tomatoes, sunflower seeds..... all kinds of things.  But two ingredients are almost always present no matter what: red onion and beets.  They pair so beautifully with arugula I can’t eat it without it!  Today I wanted to share with you one of my many variations, the Fall Arugula Salad. 

 

This version makes me think of my friend/ former coworker, Maddie.  She knew my affinity for arugula salads and made a similar salad for lunch one day and shared it with me.  She even made sure I had enough of each ingredient on my plate, digging back into the bowl and giving me more of something if needed so I would always have “the perfect bite.” Now that’s a quality friend for ya!

 

This recipe is actually not much of a recipe.  The only measurements I actually give are for the apple cider vinegar dressing.  The rest is just the salad components and substitutions you can use.  Feel free to mix and match as you want and use a lot or a little of anything.  Make it your own! 

 

Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

 

3/8 cup light tasting olive oil (or other neutral oil)

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. maple syrup (you can add more if you like a sweeter dressing)

A couple grinds black pepper 

 

Whisk all the ingredients together well to emulsify or add all ingredients to a small jar and shake to combine (my preferred method)

 

Other Ingredients

 

Arugula- I really like the peppery bite of arugula. It has so much flavor!  You can sub spinach or spring mix if you’d prefer, it just won’t pack as much flavor.

Sweet potato- My salad had fresh sweet potatoes that I cubed and roasted but even crisped up frozen sweet potato fries that you chop up would work great too! You can also use another roasted squash like butternut.

Beets- Red or golden. Fresh or canned/jarred.  Plain or pickled.  Any kind of beet will work here.  Canned beets are a staple in my house.  They have great texture and earthiness.  A little too earthy for your taste?  Try them pickled.

Red Onion- Red onion is my favorite for eating raw.  It gives a nice zip without being quite as overwhelming as a white or brown onion.  Very thinly sliced or shaved with a peeler is the way to go.  Nice and thin so you aren’t chomping down on a giant chunk and dispersed more evenly throughout the salad

Goat Cheese- Goat cheese is the GOAT for this type of salad (see what I did there?) It has a slight bit of tang and it’s SUPER creamy.  It’s perfection with the beets and arugula.  I opted for the crumbles but you can also buy the logs and chunk it up yourself.  You could substitute feta if necessary, but actual goat cheese (often labeled chevre) is optimal.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds- A lot of my arugula salads contain sunflower seeds, but for Fall it is all about the pumpkin seeds! I buy them preroasted and salted for ease.  They add a nice crispy crunch.

Toasted Pecans- Yep...I went double the crunch in this salad.  It has both a seed and a nut, but they offer two different things.  The pumpkin seeds are a crispy type of crunch and the pecans are a hearty kind of crunch.  They hit different.  Plus, toasting the pecans brings out the flavor that make you think of Fall.

 

I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do.  It really gives you all the Fall feels (well, as much as a salad can lol)

 


I l me look at one.  I have several different combinations of ingredients I use: olives, capers, tomatoes, sunflower seeds..... all kinds of things.  But two ingredients are almost always present no matter what: red onion and beets.  They pair so beautifully with arugula I can’t eat it without it!  Today I wanted to share with you one of my many variations, the Fall Arugula Salad. 

 

This version makes me think of my friend/ former coworker, Maddie.  She knew my affinity for arugula salads and made a similar salad for lunch one day and shared it with me.  She even made sure I had enough of each ingredient on my plate, digging back into the bowl and giving me more of something if needed so I would always have “the perfect bite.” Now that’s a quality friend for ya!

 

This recipe is actually not much of a recipe.  The only measurements I actually give are for the apple cider vinegar dressing.  The rest is just the salad components and substitutions you can use.  Feel free to mix and match as you want and use a lot or a little of anything.  Make it your own! 

 

Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

 

3/8 cup light tasting olive oil (or other neutral oil)

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. maple syrup (you can add more if you like a sweeter dressing)

A couple grinds black pepper 

 

Whisk all the ingredients together well to emulsify or add all ingredients to a small jar and shake to combine (my preferred method)

 

Other Ingredients

 

Arugula- I really like the peppery bite of arugula. It has so much flavor!  You can sub spinach or spring mix if you’d prefer, it just won’t pack as much flavor.

Sweet potato- My salad had fresh sweet potatoes that I cubed and roasted but even crisped up frozen sweet potato fries that you chop up would work great too! You can also use another roasted squash like butternut.

Beets- Red or golden. Fresh or canned/jarred.  Plain or pickled.  Any kind of beet will work here.  Canned beets are a staple in my house.  They have great texture and earthiness.  A little too earthy for your taste?  Try them pickled.

Red Onion- Red onion is my favorite for eating raw.  It gives a nice zip without being quite as overwhelming as a white or brown onion.  Very thinly sliced or shaved with a peeler is the way to go.  Nice and thin so you aren’t chomping down on a giant chunk and dispersed more evenly throughout the salad

Goat Cheese- Goat cheese is the GOAT for this type of salad (see what I did there?) It has a slight bit of tang and it’s SUPER creamy.  It’s perfection with the beets and arugula.  I opted for the crumbles but you can also buy the logs and chunk it up yourself.  You could substitute feta if necessary, but actual goat cheese (often labeled chevre) is optimal.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds- A lot of my arugula salads contain sunflower seeds, but for Fall it is all about the pumpkin seeds! I buy them preroasted and salted for ease.  They add a nice crispy crunch.

Toasted Pecans- Yep...I went double the crunch in this salad.  It has both a seed and a nut, but they offer two different things.  The pumpkin seeds are a crispy type of crunch and the pecans are a hearty kind of crunch.  They hit different.  Plus, toasting the pecans brings out the flavor that make you think of Fall.

 

I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do.  It really gives you all the Fall feels (well, as much as a salad can lol) t, if you scroll through my Instagram over the last few years I looooove me a good arugula salad.  In fact, if you scroll through my Instagram over the last few years there is no shortage of arugula salad photos in case you’re ever jonesin’ to look at one.  I have several different combinations of ingredients I use: olives, capers, tomatoes, sunflower seeds..... all kinds of things.  But two ingredients are almost always present no matter what: red onion and beets.  They pair so beautifully with arugula I can’t eat it without it!  Today I wanted to share with you one of my many variations, the Fall Arugula Salad. 

 

This version makes me think of my friend/ former coworker, Maddie.  She knew my affinity for arugula salads and made a similar salad for lunch one day and shared it with me.  She even made sure I had enough of each ingredient on my plate, digging back into the bowl and giving me more of something if needed so I would always have “the perfect bite.” Now that’s a quality friend for ya!

 

This recipe is actually not much of a recipe.  The only measurements I actually give are for the apple cider vinegar dressing.  The rest is just the salad components and substitutions you can use.  Feel free to mix and match as you want and use a lot or a little of anything.  Make it your own! 

 

Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

 

3/8 cup light tasting olive oil (or other neutral oil)

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. maple syrup (you can add more if you like a sweeter dressing)

A couple grinds black pepper 

 

Whisk all the ingredients together well to emulsify or add all ingredients to a small jar and shake to combine (my preferred method)

 

Other Ingredients

 

Arugula- I really like the peppery bite of arugula. It has so much flavor!  You can sub spinach or spring mix if you’d prefer, it just won’t pack as much flavor.

Sweet potato- My salad had fresh sweet potatoes that I cubed and roasted but even crisped up frozen sweet potato fries that you chop up would work great too! You can also use another roasted squash like butternut.

Beets- Red or golden. Fresh or canned/jarred.  Plain or pickled.  Any kind of beet will work here.  Canned beets are a staple in my house.  They have great texture and earthiness.  A little too earthy for your taste?  Try them pickled.

Red Onion- Red onion is my favorite for eating raw.  It gives a nice zip without being quite as overwhelming as a white or brown onion.  Very thinly sliced or shaved with a peeler is the way to go.  Nice and thin so you aren’t chomping down on a giant chunk and dispersed more evenly throughout the salad

Goat Cheese- Goat cheese is the GOAT for this type of salad (see what I did there?) It has a slight bit of tang and it’s SUPER creamy.  It’s perfection with the beets and arugula.  I opted for the crumbles but you can also buy the logs and chunk it up yourself.  You could substitute feta if necessary, but actual goat cheese (often labeled chevre) is optimal.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds- A lot of my arugula salads contain sunflower seeds, but for Fall it is all about the pumpkin seeds! I buy them preroasted and salted for ease.  They add a nice crispy crunch.

Toasted Pecans- Yep...I went double the crunch in this salad.  It has both a seed and a nut, but they offer two different things.  The pumpkin seeds are a crispy type of crunch and the pecans are a hearty kind of crunch.  They hit different.  Plus, toasting the pecans brings out the flavor that make you think of Fall.

 

I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do.  It really gives you all the Fall feels (well, as much as a salad can lol) there is no shortage of arugula salad photos in case you’re ever jonesin’ to look at one.  I have several different combinations of ingredients I use: olives, capers, tomatoes, sunflower seeds..... all kinds of things.  But two ingredients are almost always present no matter what: red onion and beets.  They pair so beautifully with arugula I can’t eat it without it!  Today I wanted to share with you one of my many variations, the Fall Arugula Salad. 

 

This version makes me think of my friend/ former coworker, Maddie.  She knew my affinity for arugula salads and made a similar salad for lunch one day and shared it with me.  She even made sure I had enough of each ingredient on my plate, digging back into the bowl and giving me more of something if needed so I would always have “the perfect bite.” Now that’s a quality friend for ya!

 

This recipe is actually not much of a recipe.  The only measurements I actually give are for the apple cider vinegar dressing.  The rest is just the salad components and substitutions you can use.  Feel free to mix and match as you want and use a lot or a little of anything.  Make it your own! 

 

Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

 

3/8 cup light tasting olive oil (or other neutral oil)

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. maple syrup (you can add more if you like a sweeter dressing)

A couple grinds black pepper 

 

Whisk all the ingredients together well to emulsify or add all ingredients to a small jar and shake to combine (my preferred method)

 

Other Ingredients

 

Arugula- I really like the peppery bite of arugula. It has so much flavor!  You can sub spinach or spring mix if you’d prefer, it just won’t pack as much flavor.

Sweet potato- My salad had fresh sweet potatoes that I cubed and roasted but even crisped up frozen sweet potato fries that you chop up would work great too! You can also use another roasted squash like butternut.

Beets- Red or golden. Fresh or canned/jarred.  Plain or pickled.  Any kind of beet will work here.  Canned beets are a staple in my house.  They have great texture and earthiness.  A little too earthy for your taste?  Try them pickled.

Red Onion- Red onion is my favorite for eating raw.  It gives a nice zip without being quite as overwhelming as a white or brown onion.  Very thinly sliced or shaved with a peeler is the way to go.  Nice and thin so you aren’t chomping down on a giant chunk and dispersed more evenly throughout the salad

Goat Cheese- Goat cheese is the GOAT for this type of salad (see what I did there?) It has a slight bit of tang and it’s SUPER creamy.  It’s perfection with the beets and arugula.  I opted for the crumbles but you can also buy the logs and chunk it up yourself.  You could substitute feta if necessary, but actual goat cheese (often labeled chevre) is optimal.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds- A lot of my arugula salads contain sunflower seeds, but for Fall it is all about the pumpkin seeds! I buy them preroasted and salted for ease.  They add a nice crispy crunch.

Toasted Pecans- Yep...I went double the crunch in this salad.  It has both a seed and a nut, but they offer two different things.  The pumpkin seeds are a crispy type of crunch and the pecans are a hearty kind of crunch.  They hit different.  Plus, toasting the pecans brings out the flavor that make you think of Fall.

 

I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do.  It really gives you all the Fall feels (well, as much as a salad can lol)

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