Man is it gorgeous outside! I don’t know what us Nor’westers did to deserve such a perfect fall (I’m ignoring the likely possibility of climate change/global warming), but I’m taking it! So here’s a quick post for you because I’m really feeling the urge to be out in the beautiful crisp autumnal sunshine.
I can’t imagine a more perfect meal to go with today’s weather. I came across this salad while flipping through this month’s issue of Sunset. Adam and I have been eating a lot of stews lately and it was starting to feel heavy and redundant. When I spied Sunset’s fall green salad with apples nuts and pain d’epice dressing, I knew it was the perfect antidote.
For those of you in other parts of the country suffering from lesser weather, I will do my best to appeal to the weather gods to send some warmth and sunshine your way.
I’ll even do a little dance :)
Cheers!
Fall Green Salad with Apples and Walnuts
Adapted from Sunset Magazine
I served this with a spicy chicken apple sausage but you can easily keep this vegetarian. The original recipe called for orange juice and zest. I omitted those and replaced it with a splash of champagne vinegar.
What you’ll need~
3/4 cups walnuts
2 cups rustic bread torn into bite-sized pieces
4 tablespoons walnut oil
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon each, cinnamon and ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon each, nutmeg and ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon each, kosher salt and ground black pepper
About 4 cups mixed salad greens
1 tart sweet apple, thinly sliced
~
Preheat your oven to 350°.
Toss bread crumbs with a tablespoon of walnut oil and place on one half of a baking sheet.
Place walnuts on the other half of the baking sheet.
Bake in oven for about 12 minutes, stirring breadcrumbs and walnuts halfway through, until your breadcrumbs are golden.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Coarsely chopped cooled walnuts and set aside.
Whisk remaining 3 tablespoons walnut oil with vinegar and spices.
Toss with salad greens, apple, nuts and croutons.
