This is an amazing salad recipe. I made it for a 4th of July party and we loved it. My hubby and I loved it so much, we had it the next night with grilled chicken on top. The recipe calls for blue cheese but I am not a huge fan so I used feta cheese. It is the perfect combination of sweet, tart and spicy.
I got this recipe from my friend Pam a few years back - not sure where she got it. The Spicy Pecan part of this recipe is heavenly. I made about 3 cups of Spicy Pecans and we are still enjoying them. I think they would be great to have around to put on any salad or they would make a yummy Christmas gift - all packaged up nicely. Please try the pecans - you won't regret it!
One last thing, the vinaigrette calls for onion juice. I had no idea so of course, I GOOGLED it. It said I could find onion juice in some stores or puree some onions. I remember I had some chopped vidalia onions in the freezer. I thawed them, snipped the corner of the ziploc bag and guess what - I had onion juice. You could probably leave it out but I didn't want to chance it!
(not at great picture - taken quickly at party before eating :)
Spicy Pecan and Feta Cheese Green Salad
Vinaigrette:
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup white vinegar
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 1/2 tsp onion juice
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
Combine sugar, dry mustard, salt and vinegars. Stir til sugar is dissolved. Whisk in onion juice and Worcestershire. Add oil slowly, whisking until blended.
Salad:
4 cups mixed greens
2 green onions, chopped
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (or favorite bleu cheese)
1 Granny Smith apple, cored, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped Spicy Pecans (or more to taste)
Spicy Pecans
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Hungarian paprika or more to taste(I used regular old paprika)
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups pecan halves
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Preheat oven to 325. Beat egg whites with salt to foamy. Add sugar, worcestershire, paprika and cayenne. Fold in pecan and melted butter. Spread evenly on a baking sheet . Bake 25- 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes - making sure not to burn. Remove from oven and cool. Store in an airtight container.
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