Leftover Cranberry Salad Dressing & Fall Salad

This recipe turns leftover Thanksgiving cranberry sauce into a fresh fall dressing. Find out how to upcycle more leftovers — turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin — as part of the series. 

Yield: 1 ¼ cups 
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

For the dressing: 

1 small shallot, minced (roughly 2 tablespoons)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons Thrive Market Organic Red Wine Vinegar or Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Thrive Market Mediterranean Sea Salt, Fine Ground
¼ cup Thrive Market Organic Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
1 tablespoon Thrive Market Organic Stone Ground Mustard or Organic Dijon Mustard
½ lemon, zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Thrive Market Organic Whole Black Peppercorns, freshly cracked 
⅔ cup 2 tablespoons Thrive Market Organic Olive Oil

Note: This recipe can easily be doubled and stored in the fridge for 1 week. 

For the salad: 

2 cups arugula or Tuscan kale, packed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 head radicchio, cut in quarterss and torn into large bite-sized pieces
1 small fennel bulb, shaved with a mandoline
3 tablespoons dill, chopped
¼ cup mint, chopped
¼ cup hazelnuts, Thrive Market Organic Pistachios, Organic Walnuts, or Organic Raw Almonds, chopped
4 oz crumbled feta or grated/shaved parmesan  
1 ½ cup boiled fingerling potatoes, or leftover grain, optional

Instructions:

In a small bowl, add the shallot, garlic, red wine vinegar, and a good pinch of sea salt. Set aside for roughly 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to soften and meld together.

Prepare salad ingredients. Add all to a large bowl. To make it a full, hearty meal, add in gently boiled, cooled, and broken-apart fingerling potatoes or any leftover grains. 

Finish the dressing. In a blender or food processor, add the cranberry sauce, mustard, lemon zest and juice, and a generous amount of fresh cracked pepper — it needs that pepper kick! Add in the vinegar-shallot mixture. Pulse a few times to break it all down and combine. Turn the food processor on and slowly add in the oil. Let the blade run for 1 minute to create a smooth and silky dressing. Taste for salt and acid, adding a little more of either if preferred.

Dress the salad, toss lightly, and serve. You’ll have even more dressing leftover to use throughout the week. 

Recipe credit: Aubrey Devin

Photo credit: Elisha Knight 

Download the recipe PDF here.