Greens with envy

Made a simple dinner for the geek squad this evening, chicken marinated in Tomato-Bacon salad dressing and grilled, a loaf of french bread, and a “top of the head” salad. The salad was the big winner for me, although the geeklet in her disdain for all things sharp and vinegary (whose kid is she, anyway?), decided she didn’t care for goat cheese. The salad was an excellent blend of sharp, sweet, savory, crunchy, and a great addition to the meal.

Dressed Greens with Candied Walnuts, Goat Cheese and Apple

~4 C greens, washed and torn
2 T Olive Oil
1 T cider vinegar
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 pinches kosher salt
2/3 C candied walnuts*
1 c crumbled goat cheese
2 apples – cored, peeled and chopped

For tonight’s salad I used a half head each of green and red leaf lettuce, but the flavor of this salad is complex enough to support a wide variety of greens, choose your favorite! I removed the leaves from the rib and roughly tore them into pieces from 1-2″ square. Drizzle oil and vinegar over greens, and toss by hand. Add salt and pepper and toss again. Add walnuts, cheese and apples, toss a final time and serve. I was lucky enough to have some home grown apples from my aunt’s orchard, but any crisp, sweet apple will do.

*Simple candied walnuts

1/2 C walnut halves
1 T butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2-3 T granulated sugar

Melt butter in frying pan and lightly toast walnuts. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar, and toss mixture in pan until sugar has melted. Pour walnuts onto waxed/parchment paper and allow to cool. Crush walnut halves with pan bottom, meat tenderizer, etc, until desired size.

A great, quick salad with a complex blend of flavors and textures that’s an excellent accompaniment to a light summer dinner.

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