Edamame Cranberry Salad
Over the holidays we tend to go hog wild (turkey wild?) for everything in combinations of meat, butter, potatoes, and pie crust, pushing the token dish of greens to a forgotten and little-frequented corner of the table. Like cousin Merle, everybody knows it’s there but we just don’t talk about it.
But let’s remember how nutritious, and delicious–and pretty, too!–a nice little green can be, when bumping elbows with mashed potato and gravy volcanoes and shreds of overdone turkey breast. A simple salad like this one can be put together in about five minutes and will help prevent the post-Thanksgiving-”Why did I eat so much?“-stupor. Edamame is rich in protein (a nice alternative to some or all of the turkey) and adds textural as well as colorful contrast to a holiday plate.
The edamame-cranberry combination is loosely inspired by my mother’s lima bean and corn succotash dish, which she used to make for every holiday dinner until we convinced her not to. Here, instead of pale and mushy frozen lima beans we have snappy, firm edamame and instead of watery corn we have sweet and vibrant dried cranberries. Feta adds a salty contrast and some richness. And see how festive it looks!
Edamame Cranberry Salad with Feta
serves 4
- 1 cup edamame, cooked and shelled
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
- drizzle of olive oil
- fresh lemon juice
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- fresh basil, chopped (optional)
- Combine all ingredients and mix well. If using basil, add just before serving.
- Serve cool or at room temperature.