Food and Recipes Recipes Winter Greens Salad with Creamy Walnut Vinaigrette Be the first to rate & review! The perfect salad for a winter gathering. By Mike Lata Published on November 9, 2021 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Peter Frank Edwards; Prop Styling and Floral Design: Sara York Grimshaw Active Time: 15 mins Toast Time: 20 mins Cool Time: 15 mins Total Time: 50 mins Servings: 6 Jump to recipe When it comes to Christmas Eve dinner, chef Mike Lata insists that planning is everything. "We don't just dream up these meals," he says. "We give a lot of thought to organizing, because who wants to be in the weeds at home?" Owner and culinary force behind FIG and The Ordinary restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina, Mike Lata and his wife Jenni Ridall devote plenty of time to engineering the perfect menu for the special occasion. From Lowcountry Fish Stew to Oven-Roasted Oysters with Mushrooms and Watercress, their smart, seasonal menu is designed with plenty of do-ahead components. This Winter Greens Salad with Creamy Walnut Vinaigrette will be the sleeper hit at your Christmas eve dinner. This is not your everyday bowl of kale: Lata's winter salad makes use of colorful, hearty winter greens, such as escarole, radicchio, or endive. "The nice thing about heartier winter greens is that they hold up after they've been dressed," Lata says. Since these winter greens pack a lot of flavor on their own, they only require a few herbs and a rich vinaigrette to get all dressed up. "I'm a huge fan of mint. You can get it year-round, and it makes the salad taste alive and fresh," Lata notes. In addition to mint, Lata adds parsley to this salad. But it's the dressing that makes this salad feel truly special. Blending toasted walnuts into canola oil, then using the infused oil as the base for the dressing results in a nutty, supremely rich walnut vinaigrette that really takes this salad over the top. Ingredients ¾ cup walnuts ½ cup canola oil 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped shallot (from 1 shallot) 2 ½ tablespoons sherry vinegar 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon cold water ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 8 cups torn hearty greens (such as escarole, radicchio, or endive) ¼ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped ¼ cup lightly packed mint leaves, torn 1 ounce pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, shaved (about ½ cup) Directions Preheat oven to 300°F. Spread walnuts in an even layer on a baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; cool about 15 minutes. Combine canola oil and ¼ cup of the cooled walnuts in a blender; pulse until well incorporated (a few chunks are fine), 4 to 5 times. Set aside. Whisk together shallot, sherry vinegar, mayonnaise, water, and Dijon mustard in a medium bowl until well combined. Slowly whisk in walnut-canola oil mixture until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Combine hearty greens, parsley, and mint in a large mixing bowl. Add ½ cup of the vinaigrette; toss to combine. Mound salad into a serving bowl; drizzle with remaining ¼ cup vinaigrette. Top with pecorino and reserved walnuts. Rate it Print