Watercress Grape Salad with Creamy Cabernet Dressing
This Grape, Avocado and Arugula Salad is a unique and delicious salad with vibrant, fresh flavors. It’s naturally gluten free. The pink-tinged, cabernet sauvignon dressing is amazing. Just a touch of rice vinegar and Dijon mustard, and a dollop sour cream makes it slightly creamy, and it’s a welcome change from traditional vinaigrettes.
This salad is fresh and light with sweet, crisp grapes and creamy avocado, and it’s a great side salad for a main dish. Bright and peppery arugula is a favorite green for salad, and it pairs well with sweet fruit. Be sure to try my watermelon, feta and arugula salad and my arugula, berry and goat cheese salad too.
Ingredients Needed for make Grape and Avocado Arugula Salad:
- Cabernet Sauvignon: Red wine is a flavorful addition to the salad dressing in this recipe. I love the fruity, bold flavor of cabernet, but if you have another type of red wine already open then use that instead.
- Vinegar: This recipe calls for using rice vinegar. You can substitute apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar if you’d like.
- Mustard: Use Dijon mustard for a nice tangy addition.
- Shallots: Look for shallots near the onions or tomatoes in your market. They’re a little milder than onion, and they’re a great addition to salad.
- Oil: Use a good tasting extra virgin olive oil for the salad dressing.
- Sour Cream: You’ll just need a little of this to add to the salad dressing. Substitute plain Greek yogurt if you don’t have sour cream.
- Arugula: It’s okay to substitute your greens of choice for this salad.
- Belgian Endive: This is optional, but I love the bitter flavor addition.
- Grapes: I prefer red grapes for this recipe, but you can use green too.
- Avocado: Look for a nice, firm avocado with a slight amount of give to it.
- Salt and Pepper: To taste!
How to make Grape and Avocado Arugula Salad:
Make the Dressing:
The homemade dressing for this salad is very easy to make. Just whisk it all in a bowl or use a mason jar and shake it all up.
Assemble the Salad:
Toss everything but the avocado with the dressing in a salad bowl. Then, gently stir in the avocado. You don’t want to mash up the avocado in the tossing process!
Recipe Tips and Substitutions:
- Substitute the arugula and endive for spinach, baby kale or mixed greens.
- Add nuts to the salad. Toasted pecans or sunflower seeds would be delicious.
- Instead of grapes, use apples, pear or berries.
- Add grilled chicken or shrimp to this salad to make it a main dish salad.
- Add some cheese to the salad. I recommend crumbles of goat or feta.
- Roast the grapes for a different, amazing flavor. Toss them with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Roast at 400 degrees F. for about 10 minutes, just to caramelize them.
What to serve with this salad:
PREPARE THE DRESSING:
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In a small bowl, whisk together the wine, vinegar, mustard and shallots in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil and then the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
ASSEMBLE THE SALAD:
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To a medium bowl, add the watercress, endive and grapes, and drizzle with dressing; toss well to coat, then lightly stir in the avocado.
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Transfer to salad plates and season with pepper.
- If you are preparing this recipe as GLUTEN FREE, just be sure to use a brand of Dijon that is known to be GF.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 182kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 111mg, Potassium: 331mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 366IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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