Living in Los Angeles, I go to Trader Joe’s a lot. Not that I’m complaining. I have many friends and family who would give an arm and leg to have a TJ’s in reasonable driving distance, so I try not to take it for granted.
For those of you who are lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe’s, here’s a salad I make often that’s entirely made up of items from this coveted little grocer. If you’re not so lucky, you can create a reasonable facsimile with items from your local store. The star is their relatively new Cruciferous Crunch, which is a mix of shredded brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale and red cabbage. It’s deliciously crunchy and makes for a healthy base.
Ingredients:
Cruciferous Crunch Collection
Sweet and Spicy Pecans
Whole Organic Sweetened Dried Cranberries
Crumbled Feta Cheese
olive oil
whole-grain mustard
honey
lemon
salt & pepper
Assembly:
Mix up the dressing. I typically use a ratio of 3:1 oil to lemon juice. Add a squirt of grainy mustard, a dollop of honey and salt and pepper, and your dressing is ready. If you want to make extra to save for later, this honey mustard vinaigrette recipe works well.
Put your greens in a bowl and top with dressing. Use your hands to toss together and massage the greens a bit so that the dressing is fully saturated. Top with feta cheese, cranberries and nuts.
Variations:
Swap out the nuts, cranberries and feta for toasted almonds, chopped dates and shaved Parmesan.
Swap the nuts and cranberries out for crumbled bacon and a soft-cooked egg for a take on the frisée salad.
Laurel Elisabeth 