Vegan Winter Salad

5 from 1 vote

Featuring radicchio, orange, fennel, and cannellini, this salad is full of color and flavor! Oil-free, refined sugar-free, gluten-free.

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Plant Diversity: At least 15 different plants in this recipe!

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Main Course, Salad, Snack

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 346kcal

Equipment

pot and stove for quinoa
sink and table linen for washing & drying produce
knife and cutting board for veg, fruit, and nuts
can opener for beans

Ingredients

For the quinoa

1 cup dry quinoa
1 ¾ cup filtered water
1 teaspoon garlic granules optional
¼ teaspoon salt optional

Other salad ingredients

6 cups arugula and/or spinach
1 can cannellini beans or 2, drained and rinsed
1 radicchio medium-small
½ fennel medium-small
¼ red onion medium
1 watermelon radish and/or chioggia beet, optional
1 orange or 2, medium or equivalent
6 kalamata olives or similar olives
2 tablespoons pistachios shells removed
¼ cup basil leaves fresh

Salad dressing

¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon hot sauce or more
2 teaspoons miso paste white mild sodium
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

Make the quinoa

Rinse the quinoa and add it to a pot with the water and garlic & salt, if using, over high heat until boiling. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes. Then, uncover and remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa is cooking and cooling

Wash and dry all the produce.
Drain and rinse the beans.
Slice then chop half of the radicchio into small pieces and tear the rest into bite-sized pieces.
Thinly slice, finely chop, and/or chop into small matchsticks the fennel, red onion, and radish/beet (peel first).
Peel the orange(s) with a knife, from top to bottom on a cutting board. Set the peels aside. Then, thinly slice the orange(s) and chop all or half into small pieces.
Chop the olives and the pistachios.
Pluck the basil leaves.

Make the dressing

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients.

Assemble the salad

To a large salad bowl or platter, layer in this order:
Arugula/spinach
Quinoa
Cannellini beans
Radicchio, fennel, red onion, radish/beet, oranges
Dressing
Olives, pistachios, basil leaves

Serve and store

Serve immediately, or store in a sealed refridgerated container for up to 3 days. See tips in the post.

Notes

Serves 4-6 as a main course, 8-12 as a side dish.

Prep time: While it might take 20-30 minutes to prep the ingredients, this can be done while the quinoa is cooking and cooling. The time estimate is approximate and varies depending on who and how many are in the kitchen. I hope you can kick back and enjoy the experience!

See post for substitutions and more details.

Nutrition