Arugula Salad with Apples, Almonds, & Honey Roasted Onions

Arugula Salad with Apples, Marcona Almonds, and Honey Roasted Cipollini Onions

I'm sure many of us are starting the new year with fresh resolve to eat well and make positive changes to better our health.  In some ways, the holiday sweets are a blessing because I always feel a little in need of sugar detox by January 1st!  You know you need more vegetables when you start craving them and all I could think about when we got back from our holiday travels was a big fresh salad.

I tossed this together with mostly things I had on hand, though I did have to run out for the cipollini onions and some fresh arugula after being away for the past week.  You can be chopping the apples while the onions are roasting and preparing other parts of your meal if you serve this as a side dish.  We had it with a roasted salmon fillet but it would be great with grilled or roasted chicken as well.  It's also got enough going on that it would make a great light supper or a lunch salad.

I'm not a fan of raw onions and have always found the flavor too harsh.  Roasting onions completely changes their taste and you get a golden, complexly sweet little burst of flavor instead.  This is a great way to add the flavor of onions to a salad without feeling like you need to chew a pack of gum afterwards!

Ingredients - makes 4 side salads

12 cipollini onions, ends removed and peeled

4 tbsp. olive oil, divided

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. honey

½ tsp. dried thyme

4 handfuls of arugula

1 pink lady apple, cored and cut into thin slices or 1” chunks

¼ c. salted marcona almonds

¼ c. dried cranberries

¼ c. crumbled feta cheese

Cider Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 375º.

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a small, ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk 3 tbsp. olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and thyme.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add onions and toss to coat. 

Add onions and sauce to hot pan and cook about 1 minute.  Place pan in the oven and roast the onions until they’re soft and golden, about 15 minutes.

Place a handful of arugula on each of four salad plates.  Divide the remaining ingredients among the four plates.  Top each salad with three roasted onions.  Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Cider Vinaigrette

This is one of my favorite vinaigrette recipes for a salad that includes fruit, especially apples or pears.  If you can’t get apple cider, substitute apple juice.  I’ll often double the recipe and keep the dressing in the fridge for a few weeks so I can pull it out whenever I want it!

Ingredients

¾ c. cup apple cider or apple juice 

2 tbsp. cider vinegar 

2 tbsp. minced shallots 

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

½ c. extra virgin olive oil

Combine the apple cider, cider vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about ¼ cup. Off the heat, whisk in the dijon, olive oil, ½ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp.pepper.

*This post was brought to you by contributing author Jennifer from The Chronicles of Home.  Thank you for this recipe Jen- I'm excited to try the salad with the salmon or chicken like you suggested.

To visit Jen's home decor and DIY website, go HERE or click the picture below.

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