Bistro Salad

Start To Finish Time:
25 mins
Servings:
8

Ingredients

  • 10 cup mesclun, torn romaine, and/or spinach

  • 3 cup red and/or green pears, cored and thinly sliced; sliced strawberries; and/or blueberries

  • ¼ cup olive oil

  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme, oregano, or basil, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, oregano, or basil, crushed

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • ¼ teaspoon dry mustard or 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

  • teaspoon black pepper

  • ½ cup broken walnuts, toasted, or 1/2 cup Candied Nuts

  • ½ cup crumbled blue or feta cheese (2 ounces)

Candied Nuts

  • 3 cup pecan halves or whole almonds

  • ½ cup sugar

  • 2 tablespoon butter

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions

  1. In a large salad bowl place mesclun and fruit. Toss lightly to combine.

  2. For dressing, in a screw-top jar combine oil, vinegar, herbs, sugar, garlic, mustard, and pepper. Cover and shake well. Pour dressing over salad; toss lightly to coat.

  3. Divide evenly among salad plates. Sprinkle each serving with nuts and cheese.

Candied Nuts

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with foil; butter the foil. Set baking sheet aside.

  2. Spread pecan halves into a shallow baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring once.

  3. Meanwhile, heat sugar in a medium heavy skillet over medium-high heat, shaking skillet occasionally to heat sugar evenly. Do not stir. Heat until some of the sugar melts (it should look syrupy); begin to stir only the melted sugar to keep it from overbrowning. Stir in remaining sugar as it melts. Reduce heat to medium-low; continue to cook until all the sugar is melted and golden, about 5 minutes. Add butter to melted sugar in skillet, stirring until butter melts and mixture is combined. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Add warm nuts to skillet, stirring to coat. Pour nut mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Cool completely. Break apart.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

188 Calories
14g Fat
14g Carbs
4g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Calories 188
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 14g 18%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 6mg 2%
Sodium 125mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 7.1mg 35%
Calcium 70.7mg 5%
Iron 0.9mg 5%
Potassium 141mg 3%
Folate, total 40.3mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.1mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.1mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Related Articles