Tangerine and ham salad recipe

Total: 10 min Diners: 4

We know: in Spain at Christmas we often go out of control with our meals. It is a kind of oasis of pleasure and gluttony where, suddenly, it seems that diet is an old memory that is far away. New Year is near and, despite being something merely symbolic and counting on the feasts of Epiphany, it is used as a kind of reset. New year, new life’, but who are we kidding if, at least in Spain, eating is a social act, enjoyment and celebration.

But yes, the reality is that even at Christmas we can enjoy without gaining weight. Still, from time to time we like to take care of ourselves and we want to give ourselves a break. Therefore, it never hurts to start meals with something light or between meals, enjoy a Christmas salad or any other similar dish. Light, tasty, but with substance.

And although the salad does not have a very good reputation, the good thing is that it supports an infinite number of ingredients and ways of preparation. They can be adapted to any time of the year and to the taste of each one: sweeter, acidic, strong, weak… Whatever. As far as salads are concerned, the only limit to their preparation is the imagination of each one.

In this case, in our salads for Christmas, honoring the holidays, we have opted for a festive, colorful and very particular recipe: a salad of mandarin, soy and duck ham that, at Christmas, will serve both as a starter or side dish and as a transitional dish between party and party.

The best thing about salads is how much you can vary them. You have to get out of the well-known lettuce and tomato salad to enter the wonderful world of salads with legumes or any of the other infinite options. The trick of the almond trick is the dressing. Everything must be well dressed and a very good way to emulsify it is to put it in a jar and shake it vigorously; always dress it inside and on top. Without cutting it. As Juan’s grandfather, my right-hand man, used to say, “la ensalá, fuerte y salá”.

How to make a tangerine and duck ham salad

The key to any salad is the vinaigrette that we prepare and the jar trick is fantastic to leave it ready in advance. It is important to know that you can assemble the salad previously, leave it in the fridge or on the terrace (now in winter) and then at the last moment dress it with that vinaigrette that has to be tasty.

Ingredients

. Fresh spinach, 150 g Endive, 1/2 u Mandarin, 2 u Carrot, 1 u Duck ham, 12 slices

For the vinaigrette

. Fried almonds, 1 handful Capers, 10 u Soy sauce, 2 tablespoons Soy sauce, 2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil, 4 tablespoons Rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon Honey, 1 teaspoon Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Step 1

Move all the ingredients of the vinaigrette into a jar, cover and mix very well as if it were a shaker. If we do not want to use this trick, simply mix well in a bowl or bowl with the help of a few rods or a spoon and set aside.

Step 2

Peel the mandarin and cut each slice into two or three parts to make it easier to eat.

Step 3

Clean the endive and spinach well and chop to use as a base for our salad.

Step 4

In a mortar and pestle, roughly crush the nuts and also chop the capers or capers so that they are not too large.

Step 5

Peel the carrot, once peeled, into small squares and mix the lettuce with the carrot and mandarin.

Step 6

Add the nuts and capers to the vinaigrette and finish with a little more oil. Close the jar and shake thoroughly.

Step 7

Place the duck ham on top of the salad and finish with plenty of vinaigrette and, if necessary, a pinch more salt divided throughout the dish. It can be made in a huge bowl so that everyone can help themselves and it will be more operative at parties.