y
In a word, this salad is crunchy. It’s got crunch from the apples, crunch from the walnuts, and crunch from the celery. It’s a pretty basic salad, as I’ve found most recipes in All You magazine to be. When you’re making a more complicated main dish, it’s nice to have a salad that takes only a few minutes to throw together. The walnuts can be made a few hours in advance and the rest of the salad comes together in ten minutes, tops.
My husband Ryan wasn’t crazy about the spiced walnuts, which he deemed too sugary. I found this interesting, since I thought the almonds in this salad were far more sugary and he didn’t mention it then. Personally, I liked the flavor combination going on with the nuts and it’s always nice to add a new salad to the ever-growing list. The dressing was light and my substitution of raspberry vinegar (I was out of red wine vinegar) turned out to work just fine.
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Green Salad with Spiced Walnuts
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6
Description
A light and healthy side salad full of crunchy apples, celery, and spiced walnuts
Ingredients
for the walnuts:
- 2 tsp (10 ml) sugar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) olive oil
- 1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt
- 1/2 tsp (2 ml) cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (2 ml) cumin
- 1 cup (8 oz) shelled walnut halves, toasted
for the salad:
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp (10 ml) orange zest
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) orange juice
- salt & pepper
- 1 large head or 2 small heads of red-leaf lettuce (I just bought a salad mix that included red-leaf lettuce)
- 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced
Instructions
- To make the walnuts, whisk the sugar, olive oil, 2 tbsp (30 ml) water, salt, cinnamon, and cumin in a large skillet. Add walnuts and toss to coat. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, until nuts are crisp and slightly glazed.
- To make the salad, whisk olive oil, vinegar, orange zest, and orange juice in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add torn lettuce to the bowl, followed by celery and apple. Toss to combine. Top with walnuts and serve.
Notes
- From All You, January 2011
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 230
Pre-packaged salads and store bought dressings are easy, but I promise recipes like this are not much more difficult and a hundred times better! Break out of your dinner salad rut with this Green Salad with Spiced Walnuts!
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do the spiced walnuts get their glaze without a lot of sugar?
Coat the walnuts in a mixture of 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp olive oil, 2 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp cumin, then cook in a skillet over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until crisp and slightly glazed. My husband found them too sugary, while I liked the spice-forward flavor.
Can I substitute a different vinegar if I don’t have red wine vinegar?
Yes — I ran out of red wine vinegar and used raspberry vinegar instead for the dressing (3 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp vinegar, 2 tsp orange zest, 2 tbsp orange juice). I found it worked just fine, so other mild fruit vinegars should be a reasonable swap.
Can the spiced walnuts be made in advance?
Yes — I make the walnuts a few hours ahead of time and cover them at room temperature until I’m ready to assemble the salad, which takes only about ten minutes.
made this the other night when i wanted something quick with dinner and honestly i ended up toasting a double batch of the walnuts just to snack on through the week
This is my kind of salad, add a little smoked chicken and it would be a great meal. Love this.