Amazing Spinach Salad with Sweet-Spicy Nuts, Apples, Feta and Bacon
Yield: 8servings
Prep Time: 25 minutesmins
Cook Time: 10 minutesmins
Total Time: 30 minutesmins
Ingredients
Red Wine Vinaigrette:
¼cupred wine vinegar
½cupextra virgin olive oil
1cloveof garlic, pressed or finely minced
2teaspoonsDijon mustard
1teaspoonsugar
½teaspoonsalt, more or less to taste
Black pepper to taste
Sweet Spicy Nuts:
2tablespoonswater
½cupgranulated or brown sugar
Pinchcayenne pepper, more to taste if you want
Pinchsalt
1cupchopped walnuts or pecans
Salad:
16ouncesbaby spinach or spring greens, or a combination
½small red onion, slivered (see note about tempering the onion flavor)
6 to 8slicesbacon, regular or thick cut, cooked and chopped
1cupfeta cheese crumbles, more or less to taste
1cupdried cranberries or cherries, more or less to taste
1 to 2honey crisp apples, cored and sliced thin
Instructions
For the dressing, blend all the ingredients until smooth or combine in a jar and shake until well-combined. Refrigerate until needed (or up to several days)
For the nuts, add the water, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper to a skillet set over medium heat. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute until the sugar is dissolved. Add the nuts and stir to coat. Cook for another 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring slowly but constantly. Spread the nuts evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet and let cool. Break into pieces.
To assemble the salad, toss all the salad ingredients together along with the cooled nuts. Toss salad with the dressing OR serve the dressing alongside.
Notes
Onions: to temper the strong flavor of the onions a bit, soak the onion slices covered in cold water with a bit of baking soda (I use about 1/2 teaspoon soda). Let them sit for 15-20 minutes then rinse and drain well.Make-Ahead: all the components can be measured out/prepped ahead of time and stored separately (I like to soak the apples in a bit of lemon juice in water to help prevent browning). Toss together right before serving.Candied Nuts (Old Version): here's the older version of the candied nuts. For the nuts, lightly toast the nuts in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, checking often so they don't burn. While they toast, place the 1/3 cup sugar and pinch of cayenne and salt in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the sugar mixture until it liquifies completely, adjusting the heat so it doesn't bubble and burn. Toss in the toasted nuts and stir to coat the nuts with sugar. Let the sugared nuts cool completely. (Update: 11/22 several of you have had issues with pecans turning out wet and sticky instead of candied - I did some troubleshooting with the version up above in the recipe and decreased the water just a bit and increased the sugar to help with that!)