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Orange
bell peppers are a sweet and colorful addition to this salad.
Black walnuts are native to America and are superbly flavorful
when candied with dark muscovado natural cane sugar. This unique
brown sugar comes from Mauritius off the coast of Africa.
Substitute dark brown sugar if you must. My father taught me to
make the very tasty candied walnuts.
Candied Black Walnut Topping
½ cup chopped black walnuts
1
tablespoon butter
¼ cup
muscovado brown sugar
1
teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
Salad
2 romaine lettuce hearts
1
Braeburn apple, cut into slices
2
green onions, just white portion sliced thinly
½
orange bell pepper, cut into thin slivers
1
stalk celery, sliced
Vinaigrette
⅜ cup olive oil
⅛
cup white balsamic vinegar
Pinch
Fleur de Sel
1. Place 4 salad
plates in the refrigerator to chill.
2. Salad:
Rinse the lettuce under cold running water. Pat dry
with
paper towels or spin dry in a salad spinner. Refrigerate
the
lettuce in a covered bowl until crisp.
3. Candied
Walnuts: Heat a 10-inch frying pan over medium
heat.
Fry walnuts in butter, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar.
Cook
until candied or about 3 minutes.
4. To test: Place 1 piece of the candied walnut on a
plate in the
freezer.
The candy should harden, forming a brittle shell over
the
walnut pieces. Place all the walnuts on parchment paper.
Separate
with two forks so all the pieces harden on their own.
5. Vinaigrette:
Measure oil, vinegar and Fleur de Sel into dressing
shaker;
shake until well blended. Refrigerate.
6. Just before
serving, break lettuce into smaller pieces. Arrange
on
chilled plates. Top with apple slices, onions, bell pepper
and
celery. Sprinkle with vinaigrette and walnuts.
Makes
4 salads
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