lettuce, schmettuce … Mixed Green Salad with Sherry Candied Walnuts

Oh salads. You and I have a lukewarm relationship at best. Sure, back in the day at the Sizzler salad bar, you were my favorite. A giant chilled plate with a side of Texas Toast was all I – and most people I suspect – needed. A pile of crispy, cold iceberg drenched in blue cheese dressing, croutons and a few standard fixing’s really hit the spot with that bottomless barrel of iced tea. But I’ve grown up. I’ve moved on and I’ve become increasingly tired of uninspired and insipid salads with limp greens, boring toppings and heavy, flavorless dressings. So few salads are done well these days. Why is that? Does no one care anymore?

I also seemed to have developed a dislike of lettuce somewhere along the way. Or maybe indifference is more accurate. What is the point of lettuce anyway? Maybe it’s a “diet food” stigma that I can’t let go but I buy lettuce because I think I should then watch as it wilts and slimes in my fridge. I should eat it. I know that but I don’t want to. Waves of guilt wash over me every time. Guilty that I’ve thrown my money away, guilty that I’m contributing to the waste in this world but most of all, guilty that I couldn’t be creative enough to come up with something interesting and wonderful. On the list of foods I find delicious and exciting, lettuce is simply way down at the bottom. WAY down there.

The truth is, I have always liked the “stuff” in a salad far better than the lettuce. Crunchy, sweet, salty, colorful things that coincidentally happen to be sitting on my lettuce. When I can, I’ll buy all kinds of unusual greens, unusually at the farmers market – mizuna, mustards and Asian greens, but also kale, cabbage and such. They’re at least interesting but even then, the best bites are always the final three in the bottom of the bowl, where all the heavy things have fallen and mix together into a few spoonfuls of wonderful. Yes, salads and I circle each other warily these days.

But sometimes I do it right. A while back, it was my annual Cassoulet Sunday Lunch (here or here), a festive meal centered on a giant casserole full of beans, duck, sausage and other lovely bits. Delicious, hearty, filling and a smidge on the rich side, it’s a showstopper of a dish and very, very brown. I needed something not only bright in color but flavor, even a bit acidic, to offset the richness of that dish. A cooked vegetable was odd – Cassoulet needs no side dishes. I needed … wait for it … a salad.

It started with that blank canvas of bright mixed greens. I know, I know but it was simply a carrier for the better stuff that was yet to come. A tangy, shallot filled sherry vinaigrette came together quickly as did big fat chunks of crispy bacon (lardons for my French inclined friends). Bright fresh haricot verts (green beans for my American friends) were blanched to a perfect crisp-tender state and tossed in a bit of that vinaigrette.

As good as those elements were, it was a little basic and needed something else for balance not too mention a little excitement. I’ve long thrown spiced pecans into salads for a little extra flavor and crunch so I went in that direction. A syrup came together quickly with sugar, a touch of corn syrup, fresh herbs, salt, pepper and since the sherry vinegar was sitting on the counter, I added that too. Tossed with walnuts and baked until crispy, they were the perfect balance of sweet, sour and salty. My salad was damn good, full of flavor, texture, plenty of “stuff” and the lettuce actually tasted pretty good.

With the weather cooling off, I just might make this more often as it seems more fall/winter than anything else. The sherry walnuts would make a nice cocktail snack so put a large batch together for the upcoming holidays and watch them fly.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: HEALTHY HALO EFFECT. Regardless of how you feel about salad/lettuce or even if you’re indifferent as am I, this is rather delicious. I think you can even pass this off as semi-healthy if you must. Squint your eyes if you’ve added the bacon – a hazy vision helps with the convincing. Sure this is lettuce, but in the tastiest way, with some vegetables thrown in for good measure and good conscious.

Other great salad recipes and semi-relevant things: Roasted Sweet Potato & Wheat Berry Salad, New Fangled Three Bean Salad, Classic Panzanella, Yunnan Pineapple Green Tomato Salad, Bloody Mary Vinaigrette, Classic Wedge with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing (See? Not exactly a plate of mixed greens in the bunch.)
On this blog five years ago: Squash & Onion Tart 
On this blog four years ago: Sautéed Beet Greens
On this blog three years ago: Concord Grape Pie & Purple Cow Pie Shakes
On this blog two years ago: Kale & Roasted Squash Salad (Hey look! A salad!)
On this blog last year: Muhammara (a delicious roasted pepper sauce)

MIXED GREEN SALAD WITH SHERRY CANDIED WALNUTS
Serves 4

For the sherry candied walnuts:
½ cup sugar
¼ cup sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon corn syrup
1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 ½ teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ cups halved walnuts (6 ounces)

For the sherry vinaigrette:
1 Tablespoon minced shallot
¼ cup sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon ground pepper

½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed if needed
mixed salad greens

1. For the walnuts: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a half sheet pan with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.
2. In a sauté pan, combine the vinegar, sugar and corn syrup and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat to medium-high and reduce the mixture until thick and syrupy, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the chopped herbs, salt and pepper, give a quick stir to combine then add the walnuts and stir to fully coat.
5. Transfer the coated nuts to the prepare sheet pan, carefully spread into a single layer and place in the preheated oven.
6. Roast, stirring once or twice during baking, until golden brown and well coated about 10 minutes. Watch carefully – they will brown quickly toward the end.
7. Remove from the oven and carefully separate any clumps.
8. Let cool completely, break up any large clumps then store in an airtight container at room temperature. Can be made a few days ahead. If it’s humid and the nuts get sticky, you can re-roast a little in the oven to dry out.
9. For the green beans: brings a large pot of salted water to a boil. Separately, fill a bowl with ice water.
10. Add the beans and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
11. Drain the cooked beans and immediately plunge into the ice water bath to cool.
12. Drain and set aside until needed. Can be done 1-2 days ahead. Keep cold.
13. For the vinaigrette: in a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, salt, mustard and pepper.
14. Slowly, in a thin steady stream, drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously until emulsified. Can be done a few days ahead, keep refrigerated. Rewhisk if vinaigrette separates.
15. To assemble: just before serving, toss the salad greens with barely enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Divide amongst salad plates.
16. In the same bowl, toss the chilled green beans in just enough vinaigrette to coat. Divide amongst the salad plates. Top with the crispy bacon, if using, and a handful of candied walnuts. Serve immediately.