Lettuce Pray

Winter salads that truly showcase the season.

by Felicia D' Ambrosio

Felicia D'Ambrosio

Since our current season lacks the outrageous abundance of local produce that rains down in summer and early fall, creativity is required to conceive a worthy cold-weather salad plate. Here are five winter salads showcasing the season.

Kale Salad ($8) Our pick for purest expression of a winter salad is the dinosaur kale with candy-striped beets and roasted winter squash (above) at Kennett (848 S. Second St.). A thorough shredding and dressing with sharp sherry vinaigrette tenderizes the hardy greens, which are at their best in frosty weather. The interplay of earthy beets, sweet squash and salty cubes of Bulgarian feta, along with a bright chervil/mint/parsley/dill herb combo, make chef Brian Ricci's creation completely craveable.

Maitake Mushroom Salad ($10) Reclining like a vegan pinup on a long white chaise, Horizons ' (611 S. Seventh St.) mushroom salad has sex appeal only the most puritanical omnivore could resist. Rich and fragrant, the roasted mushrooms gilding a forearm-size heap of "little leaves" get a crunch from shaved rutabaga and contrast from grilled green onion. Pistachio vinaigrette brings it all together.

Winter Market Salad ($10) Greenhouse-grown arugula lays a peppery bed for shaved fennel, pistachios, shallots and chef Jonathan Adams' favorite thing about winter: grapefruit supremes. "None of the citrus is local, but winter is their natural growing season," he says. Ginger vinaigrette adds a spicy note to this emerald tangle at Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.), one of the few seasonal salads about town not relying on winter root vegetables.

Rutabaga Tart with Asian Pear Salad ($20) Sheri Waide's menu at Southwark (701 S. Fourth St.) is always rife with local ingredients, from the farmhouse platter to the rainbow of roasted root vegetables supporting a braised pork shank. Never one to dismiss vegetarians, her most seasonal salad accompanies a mushroom tart entrée ensconced in a crust of ground wild rice. Succulent leaves and crisp roasted rutabaga are a fresh canvas for streaks of sweetness from dried Asian pear; alternated with bites of tender tart, it's impossible to stop eating.

Peekytoe Crab Salad ($10.50) Sourced from Maine by Café Estelle (444 N. Fourth St.), peekytoe crabs exhibit supermodel stats: long legs, little bodies. A heap of the sweet, pristine meat crowns a fan of just-bitter-enough endive leaves and sparkling-jewel segments of grapefruit and blood orange; a scattering of toasted hazelnuts provides rich crunch. Gorgeously presented and elegantly balanced, this recurring special should be required study.

(restaurants@citypaper.net)