FESTIVE COLORS SALAD

The Hot Flash Diet^TM recipe for December 2023 is festive in coloration and has a “cool” overall thermal property according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. This red, white, and green salad presentation is perfect for a Christmas dinner or an Italian festival, displayed either in concentric layers in a large wide bowl or in stripes within a large rectangular dish.  Variations with other color combinations would work for other holidays.

Green Layer:

1 head of romaine lettuce, frisée, escarole, or chicory, washed & torn

2-3 stalks of celery, sliced on the bias

White Layer:

1 head Belgian endive, sliced thinly crosswise and broken up

1 cup chopped cauliflower florets

4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

¼ cup slivered almonds or chopped macadamia nuts (opt.)

1 small or ½ large fennel bulb, sliced thinly (opt.)

Red Layer:

1 head of red radicchio, sliced thinly or coarsely torn

1 small red beet, peeled, cut into ½ to ¾ inch chunks, steam cooked and cooled

1 orange peeled, chopped, and seeds removed (the beets will stain it red)

¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped if needed

12 sweet cherry tomatoes, halved (opt.)

In a large bowl, mix the greens and celery.  Place the greens and celery mixture in the base of a large, wide, round serving dish.  (Or for a different presentation, you can place these 3 mixtures in stripes within a rectangular serving dish.)

In the same bowl, now mix the endive slices, cauliflower florets, feta cheese, and nuts or fennel if using.  Set the white ingredients atop the greens leaving a perimeter of green.

Again, in the same bowl, combine the shredded radicchio, orange segments, cooled cooked beet chunks, cranberries, and tomatoes.  If you used a regular orange, the beets will stain the segments red.  Place this atop the white mixture, leaving a perimeter of white. 

Mix Sweet Lemon Poppyseed Dressing* (with or without the poppyseeds) in a lidded jam jar or measuring cup with a pouring lip.  Drizzle dressing over the salad and serve. 

*SWEET LEMON (POPPY SEED) DRESSING

4 TBSP avocado oil

3 TBSP lemon juice

1 TBSP maple syrup

1 TBSP of minced shallot or 1 slice of purple or sweet onion, finely chopped

¼ tsp Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp sea salt

½ to ¾ tsp poppy seeds (opt.)

Place the oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, shallot bits, mustard, and sea salt sequentially in a jar with a lid or a salad dressing container.  Shake until these ingredients are blended.  Add the poppy seeds last, if desired.  Store in the refrigerator.