This apple salad recipe is simple but highly packed with delicious crunchy, soft textures and flavors. It's a perfect apple salad to serve for your holiday dinner or a healthy lunch when you want to treat yourself
Darling you, holidays are almost here, and if you're still wondering what salad you could serve, here's just what you need, an apple salad with alfalfa sprouts and mizuna.
Holiday dinner is always heavy with lots to savor, starting off with a hearty delicious salad to activate digestive juices is the best way to go, as this also helps you eat fewer calories.
This sweet and savory apple salad recipe made with smoked tofu, roasted walnut, and sweet cherry tomatoes is such a great treat! The smoked tofu adds that smoky flavor that makes this salad a must if you want to impress your guests.
It's super easy and simple, doesn't call for extra preparations, it takes less than 15 minutes to put everything together. The best thing is that now we have apples almost year-round, so add this salad to your apple recipes to make any time during the year.
Apples for salad
I love adding apples in our salads to add sweetness which helps my daughter to appreciate salads even with bitter greens.
It's the beginning of apple season here in France, so the apples are crunchy with lots of juice, however, when making an apple salad, look for crunchy apples like
- Ambrosia,
- Honeycrisp,
- Granny Smith,
- Fuji,
- Pink Lady,
- Jazz, and
- Gala.
Note that each apple is unique. Adding different types to the same salad can create a whole lot of flavors.
If you are not serving your apple salad immediately after assembling it, it could be better to sprinkle some lemon juice on the apples to limit oxidation to take place.
Alfalfa Sprout
You might be wondering what language am I speaking here lol!
- Alfalfa, also known as Luzerne (Medicago sativa) is a legume family crop once grown for livestock.
- The seeds of alfalfa are germinated to have alfalfa sprout which is high in vitamin K and phytoestrogens.
- Phytoestrogens can mimic estrogen in our body and can be of benefit during menopause.
- Alfalfa sprouts can help in managing stress and digestive issues.
Mizuna
You might be wondering what this could be, it's a leafy green vegetable like arugula (I mistook the two for a long time), but mizuna is a bit bitter, though there're about 16 varieties.
It's a good source of vitamin A, C, and K. Mizuna can boost your antioxidants levels.
I get mizuna from farmers in my marketplace but check it Chinese groceries. Wrap it with a kitchen towel and put it in a freezer bag before storing it in your fridge.
What type of tofu to use
- Always for go firm or extra firm tofu when you're making a salad.
- In this apple salad, I used smoked tofu that has almonds. Almonds add more texture and a sweet flavor.
- Sometimes I do use Japanese smoked tofu.
- Another option can be marinated tofu. The taste and flavor vary, but you can try out different flavors.
- Therefore, shop around to see what is available for you in your grocery (mostly organic shops).
- You can also marinate your tofu at home but that will call for extra work.
Which greens go well with apple salad
- I used romaine salad for we love their crunchiness, feel free to use soft lettuce like butter lettuce.
- Arugula adds a peppery flavor that I love. If you're not a fan of mature arugula, then I recommend you try young arugula leaves which are mild.
- There are greens that you can add to your apple salad, think of kale, spinach, mâche, butter lettuce, watercress, radish greens, dandelion greens, etc.
- Greens will boost this apple salad with vitamins like vitamin A, K, C, and B. They also bring fiber that will be really beneficial to your gut microbiome.
The apple salad dressing
The apple salad dressing is tangy and sweet made with balsamic vinegar to which I added a pinch of cinnamon powder to add more notes on the flavor. The dressing isn't super overpowering but rather a complement to the rest of the ingredients.
Getting a good balsamic vinegar would be a better place to start with. Did you know that traditional balsamic vinegar is fermented for up to 12 years?
I wish you'll love this apple salad, hurry up to try it out before the holidays so that you can adjust it to your liking.
I dry roast walnuts in a heated oven without adding any oil or butter. If you'd want to, you can add some butter and some maple syrup for holiday purposes.
I'd love to read from you about this apple salad. Please leave me a comment here below.
My love to you, Githu.
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A must make apple salad with alfalfa sprout and mizuna
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Chef knife
- Large salad bowl
- Big salad spoons
- A large serving platter/bowl
Ingredients
- 1 small head of roamine salad
- 1 cup diced radishes (diced)
- 300 gm 2 cups well ripe cherry tomatoes
- a handful roasted walnut
- 300gm 2 cups smoked firm tofu (choose your flavor)
- 1 yellow/red bell pepper (diced)
- some mizuna leaves (cut off the stems)
- some alfalfa sprout (store-bought)
- 3 different types of apples
- ½ a lemon
Salad dressing
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pinch of cinnamong powder
Instructions
Salad dressing
- Mix all ingredients in a small jar, close it tightly and shake it vigorously to mix.
Assemble the apple salad
- Clean all the veggies and fruits
- Chop off the base of romaine salad. Chop the leaves into bite sizes
- If your cherry tomatoes are small size, no need of cutting them
- Cut the smoked tofu into small bite sizes
- Chop the apples and sprinkle with some lemon
- Place the romaine and mizuna in a large serving bowl or platter and add some balsamic dressing, toss the leaves with the serving spoons
- Now put the apples, cherry tomatoes, smoked tofu, walnuts, radishes, bell peppers, and alfalfa in the salad bowl
- Add more balsamic dressing and toss gently without over mixing making sure all the ingredients are getting the dressing
- Top the romaine salad on the platter with the mix in the salad bowl
- Best served immediately.
Notes
- Roast the walnuts a day before so they can cool up, this will also save you time during preparation
- You can germinate alfalfa seeds to have your own alfalfa sprouts.
I 'd love reading your reply