Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison

A seasonal fall harvest salad with greens, turnips, radishes, tomatoes, aged goat cheese in an apple cider vinaigrette. So pretty for Thanksgiving.

Harvest Haven Salad held by hands

The other day, we were having dinner with the family and my mom said “so, do you want to host Thanksgiving this year?” My first instinct was – heck no, that sounds like a lot of work! Of course, what came out of my mouth was a noncommittal “ok, sure? I guess?” Later that night, as the idea settled in my mind, I thought of the beautiful fall harvest-y type dishes I could make and I started to get excited.

I got warm and fuzzy feelings picturing my family gathered around the kitchen in our new home, drinking wine and talking about “the game” (football?), as my mom and I rotate dishes in and out of our Wolf double ovens (that will now come in super handy). As the one who usually shows up to Thanksgiving at the last minute, straight from the airport, this hosting gig seems like a big adult step.

What does all of this have to do with the beautiful salad up there? Well, the inspiration for both hosting Thanksgiving and the salad were from a trip we took to Madison hosted by Sub-Zero and Wolf. We’ve loved working with them over the past couple of years, and we’re totally on board with their philosophies – to inspire people to cook and create memorable experiences with their families, and to enjoy fresh, seasonal food.

Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison

Something that I didn’t know before this trip, is that Sub-Zero and Wolf appliance are made right here in Madison. We toured both factory floors, and while they didn’t let us take photos of their proprietary processes, it was fascinating to watch the appliances being built from start to finish and to learn about the rigorous testing they do at each and every step. It gave me peace of mind knowing that the appliances in our home are going to last through the rigors that we put them through – holidays, cookbooks, and more. I was also reassured that if I (or anyone) have a problem with an appliance, someone from Madison (not overseas) will be on top of the repair.

Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison

Also in Madison we met their resident chef, Joel Chesebro. He cooked for us and explained to me why I should almost always use the convection setting on my oven. Since I use the oven mostly to roast veggies, he explained that the consistent heat creates a nice, even brown crispness around the edges. In fact, the only time he doesn’t use convection is when baking cakes or quick breads so that the tops of the baked goods don’t brown before the inside is done cooking.

Next, (the prettiest part!), he took us on a tour of their new barn and the dreamy Harvest Haven gardens where they source the produce for guests of Sub-Zero and Wolf year round.

The blue skies and epic amount of fresh produce growing right there(!) made me want to move to a farmhouse in Wisconsin and make my #farmhousegoals come true.

Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison

above: the freshest butternut squash

below: barn dreams, and a spread of delicious pickled vegetables that Chef Joel made for us. Note to self: I need to get the recipe for those pickled Moroccan carrots – the spice combo was amazing!

Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison

After strolling through the farm, their team made us a wonderful meal, and well, this salad (pictured at the top of this post) just floored me. It was so simple, but it was made from the freshest lettuces, tomatoes, turnips, and carrots that we just saw – proving yet again that delicious, beautiful food doesn’t have to be complicated! This will be the perfect start to my Thanksgiving meal. I just had to get the recipe from Chef Joel to share with all of you, and he kindly sent it, so here it is!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Harvest Haven Salad

 
Author:
Serves: Serves 4 to 6 as a starter or side.
Ingredients
  • 6 cups green leaf lettuce
  • ½ cup thinly sliced carrots*
  • ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
  • ¼ cup peeled and very thinly sliced raw beets*
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced salad turnips*
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced radishes*
  • 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
  • 2 tablespoon golden raisins
  • ¼ cup aged goat cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler (or substitute with goat cheddar)
  • 1 crisp sweet apple, sliced (do this last - right before you mix your salad)
  • 1 segmented tangerine, optional
Dressing
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • ½ tablespoon minced shallot
  • ⅓ cup grapeseed oil
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
  1. Make the dressing. In a blender, combine the vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, and shallot and pulse until well incorporated and the shallot is liquefied. At medium speed, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed and olive oil to emulsify. Add the salt and adjust to your taste with a bit more maple syrup, vinegar or salt.
  2. Assemble the salad with the lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, beets, turnips, radishes, sunflower seeds, raisins, cheese, apple, and tangerine, if using. Toss with the dressing, as desired.
Notes
*I like to use a mandolin to thinly slice the veggies.
**Store extra dressing in the refrigerator for up to a week.

 

Special thanks to Sub-Zero and Wolf for partnering on this post. All opinions and images are my own – thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep us cooking!

11 comments

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  1. Erin@WellPlated
    10.31.2017

    What a special trip and a gorgeous salad to go along with it!

  2. sally
    10.31.2017

    I second the request for the Moroccan carrot recipe. Sounds intriguing.

  3. stephanie comstock
    10.30.2017

    The salad looks amazing, I may have to include one on my Thanksgiving menu!! But, I have to say, I’m very intrigued by the pickled vegetables! I would love to have those recipes!

  4. Heather Christo
    10.30.2017

    Hosting Holidays is so fun! I think we have like 20 people this year and I am so excited. This salad looks beautiful, I can’t wait to see what else you make!

  5. Lexi from lexiscleankitchen.com
    10.30.2017

    What an awesome trip and this looks so so good!

  6. Betsy
    10.30.2017

    This looks amazing! Excited to make it- Thank you.

  7. Susan
    10.30.2017

    Wow! The salad sounds wonderful, and those Moroccan pickled carrots? If you get the recipe PLEASE, PLEASE share! I love Moroccan flavors. And I would love to have the kind of garden you saw in Madison. Two things work against that: 1) I live in the desert and 2) I ran out of serious garden energy years ago. I hope you get to have your farm garden while you can still enjoy it (not everyone runs out of energy for things like that).

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.30.2017

      Ha ha, well, I have zero garden energy and I’m pretty terrible at growing things so it’s a lofty “goal” for sure :).

  8. Rachel Zierzow
    10.30.2017

    What a cool experience! I spent some time in Wisconsin visiting relatives in Green Lake, Ripon, Appleton, and Two Rivers when I was a kid. There are so many wonderful places and people there! I did not know anything about these factories being there. Have a great Thanksgiving feast with your family!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.