Roasted Radish + Apple Winter Salad

Cookies, cheesecake, treats. I’m eating all of it! But, I’m eating a few (just a FEW) of these Roasted Radish + Apple Salads too. It’s got all of my favorite fall flavors, textures and colors, and not a single roasted sweet potato or winter squash in sight (because, frankly, I’m eating an obscene amount of them everywhere else too!)

This was also the week to share a salad because, in the next weeks the supply of local greens will begin to dwindle substantially. We received our last harvest from the CSA this week, and root veggies, potatoes and squashes were all that’s in sight. The bunches of hardy spinach and kale remain; two greens that actually don’t make for great salads. They’re too fiberous, too leafy, too stout. This makes them VERY hard to digest, and very hard on our digestive systems which are trying to madly keep us warm in these cold months, and by eating these very cold, very rough foods we don’t do ourselves any favors when we’re talking about balance. If you’re the kind of person who has a hard time keeping your hands warm in the winter, or your toes warm in your ski boots, chances are you’re too much coldness, roughness and dryness in the system are likely the culprits…and for many of us the biggest offender is SALAD.

Keeping cozy inside and out

Recall that our bodies require that everything we eat be brought up to 98.6°F before we digest it, which means that we’re asking a lot by eating a salad. And then, when we make it a very rough, hardy one we’re asking even more. The blood in our bodies rushes to the digestive system to keep our food and bowels warm, and is shunted away from the extremities.

By signing off of raw salads, specifically very hardy ones, for the winter, that good heat will be able to return to your little handies and feeties so that you can get on with the things you WANT to be doing (instead of still chewing that hardy kale salad. Ha.)

Now, you might be saying “do I need a recipe for a salad?” and the answer is maybe YOU don’t because you’ve been following along here long enough to know that there’s a right way and a less right way to compose a salad in the winter! And maybe you’re doing it RIGHT!

If this is one of those things that’s making you go “hmmm” stay right here and keep reading because YES THERE IS A RIGHT WAY TO BUILD A WINTER SALAD. And, if health, well-being, performance and all that good jazz occupy any of your thoughts, you’re gonna want this salad recipe.

Gasp! You mean, you + salads are taking a “break?”

Yep. We love each other, we do. But it’s important to stretch your wings every once in a while, ya know? Not get stuck in a rut – to try different flavors.

Over the winter, I take a massive break from eating salads most of the time. The reasons being that

a.) there aren’t in season, local vegetables that make very friendly salads.

b.) I balance the cold, rough, dry, mobile and subtle qualities of the season with warm, smooth, moist, dense foods…and salad is none of these. UNLESS, you are cooking + wilting the veggies!

To briefly elaborate,  cold, rough foods ice us down, make good digestion challenging and (therefore) immunity and good health VERY hard to keep in check, but also because greens just aren’t growing right now! They are absolutely out of season, unless you live in a very warm, very lush climate. The greens that are available to us, even under green houses are better for our bodies when they’re cooked. And so, take this as your queue that you don’t need many more inspirational winter salad ideas. This salad is a repeat customer at our house around the holidays because the bright flavor, crunchy texture and cooked (read: easy to digest!) veggies make it a wonderful accompaniment to so many other dishes. A special side dish if you will, instead of an all-the-time occurrence.

When I DO make a salad, this Roasted Radish + Apple jam is a great example of how it all comes together. Lots of roasted root veggies, tender + sweet, a bracing dressing, all Six Flavors, less greens than roasted veg, and a few additional zhooshes to make sure it’s grounding, dense nourishment instead of light, airy and unsubstantial.

The RIGHT (and less right) way to build a winter salad

There’s a right way, and a less right way to build a winter salad.

The right way entails:

• using tender greens instead of hardy ones
• keeping your salad simple
• adding a variety of in-season, grounding root veggies and cooking them well before adding to your salad
• zhooshing your salad up with grains, proteins and a bracing, oil-based dressing to ground it and make it substantial

The less-right way entails:

• using boxed greens from far-flung parts of the planet
• employing cold, rough or seasonally inappropriate veggies like cherry tomatoes or cucumbers. These ingredients are prevalent in the summer and bring cooling qualities into the body. We NEED these qualities during the summer months, and these food ingredients are one of the ways we get that coolness! But just like you wouldn’t want to bust out a parka in Hawaii in the winter, or wear a bikini out into the snow, we don’t want to expose our bodies to the cold of these out-of-season veggies. (Lest we risk feeling not so hot when the cold takes over!)

If you’re eating this latter category, you’re likely finding that you have lots of gas or bloating, your extremities are likely quite difficult to keep warm. Perhaps you find yourself frequently constipated, or with bowel movements that aren’t satisfying. Not awesome.

The upside of right-winter salads

When we make, and eat, OCCASIONAL salads that are suitable for winter (ie: cooked, grounded and nourishing) we get to reap a few benefits, as it turns out.

• astringent + bitter flavors from these beautiful greens help to balance kapha in our bodies + keep winter weight managed.
• boost digestive fire with the sour and bright flavors of balanced dressings
• increase our veggie intake, which helps to boost alkalinity and counterbalance our appropriate consumption of proteins and fats this time of year

..and let’s be honest, eating fresh, bright foods in these cold winter months feels GOOD sometimes!

This roasted radish salad:

Is easy-peasy, straightforward and fun. We served it as a side dish for Thanksgiving, and it’s one of my favorite studio meals for working days with my assistant. It’s critical that we cook the radishes because it softens their pungency and intensity. It’s critical to roast the apples so they’re easily digested along with the other veggies and components in this dish!

Is packed with ingredients that start to shine in the late fall and keep right on going through the winter; spinach, radicchio, apple, date, watermelon radish, shallot. It’s dressed up with a tangy pomegranate-shallot dressing that you’ll want to keep around for all sorts of things. (Ok, namely more smart winter salad.)

I often zhoosh this one up with roasted chicken (in which case I omit the walnuts,) or chunks of blue cheese (in which case I keep the walnuts because I’m human.) A nice little side of salmon, or a scoop of steamed farro or rice are also excellent here. The salad keeps remarkably well the day after, so I also make a batch and enjoy it wilted as part of a quick lunch on busy days.

Make this one your own…but don’t forget to “make” it the RIGHT way! : )