Description
Festive winter salads reach new heights with this Christmas fig & pomegranate wreath salad, offering Mediterranean flavors that dance across seasonal celebrations. Crisp greens adorned with jewel-like pomegranate seeds and sweet figs create an elegant centerpiece you’ll proudly serve at holiday gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Proteins and Cheeses:
- 2 ounces (57 grams) goat cheese, crumbled (optional)
Fresh Produce:
- 10 ounces (283 grams) spring mix lettuce
- 6 fresh figs, stems removed, sliced into quarters or eighths
- 1 pomegranate (yields about 1/4 cup seeds)
- 1 avocado, peeled, cubed, and tossed with 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Seasoning:
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Carefully extract vibrant pomegranate seeds by gently tapping a halved fruit against a wooden spoon, allowing seeds to cascade into a bowl without crushing them.
- Create a harmonious dressing by vigorously whisking olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, and a pinch of salt and pepper until smooth and glossy.
- Transform a large circular platter into a festive canvas by artfully layering spring mix lettuce to resemble a lush holiday wreath.
- Strategically place sliced figs in elegant curves around the lettuce base, creating visual depth and texture.
- Nestle creamy avocado cubes between fig slices, ensuring a balanced distribution of colors and shapes.
- Sprinkle pomegranate seeds like delicate jewels across the salad, adding bursts of ruby-red brilliance.
- Crumble tangy goat cheese over the arrangement, allowing soft white fragments to contrast with the vibrant ingredients.
- Immediately before serving, drizzle the emulsified dressing in delicate zigzag patterns, ensuring each ingredient receives a subtle coating.
- Add a final flourish with fresh rosemary sprigs or scattered cranberries to enhance the festive holiday aesthetic.
Notes
- Tap the pomegranate half firmly over a bowl to quickly and cleanly release the ruby-red seeds without messy splatter.
- Prepare the vinaigrette ahead of time and store in the refrigerator, allowing flavors to meld and intensify for a more robust taste profile.
- Swap fresh figs with dried figs during off-season or replace goat cheese with vegan alternatives like nutritional yeast for plant-based diets.
- Create the wreath shape on a white platter to enhance the festive colors and make the salad visually pop for holiday gatherings.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer
- Method: None
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 40 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 5 mg