Persian Jews serve jeweled rice—a sumptuous and festive dish filled with dried fruits and nuts—on celebratory occasions. In this Purim-inspired dish, salad greens are given the “jeweled” treatment and are paired with carrot ribbons, golden raisins and dried cherries, then drizzled with a cinnamon-and-cardamom-spiced vinaigrette. This salad is gorgeous enough to serve for company, and simple enough to make on a weeknight.
Jeweled Greens Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
- For dressing:
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1½ tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon finely minced shallot
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- For the salad:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup slivered, sliced or roughly chopped whole almonds
- 5 ounces salad greens, like arugula, baby spinach or mesclun mix
- 1 medium carrot, peeled into long ribbons with a vegetable peeler
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
Directions
- Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, honey, orange zest, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, salt and shallot together in a medium bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly, until smooth and creamy. Taste and add more salt, if desired. Set aside until needed.
- Make the salad: Heat the oil in a small frying pan set over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and toasty, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer almonds to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.
- Arrange the salad greens and carrot ribbons on a large serving platter, tossing gently with your hands to combine. Scatter the top with the raisins, cherries and toasted almonds. Drizzle with some of the dressing and serve immediately. (Reserve the remaining dressing for another use.)
