Sunday, June 12, 2011

Southern Pecan and Apple Salad

I knew I'd love this one. Bitter greens, peppery arugula, sliced apples, caramel pecans. Stop right there. CARAMEL PECANS??? I am so sugar challenged that I once went through five pounds of sugar trying to make toffee. I should have known then. But this seemed so easy. Two ingredients, low heat. Yeah right. On low heat the butter melted, the sugar did nothing. Stir. Raise the heat, stir and the sugar seemed to be melting. One big stir and it seemed fine. Not burnt but one big glob. I put the nuts in. Not good. It clumped into one big sugar ball with nice pecans stuck to the big glob.


I salvaged what I could and they were actually really good. At least the ones I was able to chip off the ball of caramel. Is caramel supposed to shatter and chip?




I loved this salad, it would also be nice with blue cheese crumbled, I guess it wouldn't be Southern, but it would taste good!


Southern Pecan and Apple Salad

Source: original recipe - Jamie's America: Easy Twists on Great American Classics, and More by Jamie Oliver
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipes

olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup pecan halves
3 teaspoons orange zest
juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 medium red or green apples, cored, quartered, and thinly sliced
2 heads Belgian endive, separated into leaves
2 cups mixed greens (such as arugula and radicchio)

Lightly rub a cookie sheet with olive oil or use a silpat-lined cookie sheet; set aside. Heat a large saucepan over low heat; add butter and sugar. Simmer a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, until sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture darkens. Gently stir in pecans until well-coated; be careful not to splash yourself. Transfer nuts to cookie sheet; use the back of a spoon to separate them into one layer. Allow to cool so caramel hardens.

Combine orange zest, orange juice, mustard, vinegar, and oil in a large salad bowl; stir well with a whisk. Taste and adjust the flavors, if needed, and season with salt and pepper.

Add apples and greens to dressing. Break cooled pecans apart; add half of them to bowl of salad. Toss mixture gently with your hands. Divide among 6 plates; top with remaining pecans and serve.

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44 comments:

  1. I love the flavors of your salad! I love your idea of crumbled blue cheese!!

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  2. This is such a colourful and flavoursome salad!

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  3. I would add the blue cheese (and I'm southern). ... :D :D :D :D

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  4. Your salad looks so good, Carol, and it's perfect without the blue cheese. I hate blue cheese! :)

    I've made caramels before but I've never made the caramel sauce for coating nuts. I probably would have melted the butter over medium heat, and then reduced the heat to low and add the sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolved. But who knows if that would have worked any better. :)

    When you mentioned you were "sugar challenged," it made me think about myself and how I'm "meat challenged." :) I suck when it comes to cooking meat dishes...except for maybe throwing a roast in a Crockpot. :)

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  5. Love this salad!

    Go ahead and put the blue cheese! One of my favorite salads comes from an old issue of Southern Living...lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, sliced apples, blue cheese, sugared pecans, raspberry dressing.

    If Southern Living okays blue cheese...well, there ya go!

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  6. This looks so good. I'm completely intimidated by caramel, so anyone who even tries making it is impressive to me!

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  7. I'd be adding the blue cheese too! I had a wonderful salad last week and it sounds a bit like this, but with tiny bits of goat cheese, which I love too.
    No good advice for the caramel pecans - sorry!

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  8. Two of my favorite things apples and pecans... oh and of course caramel, I commend you for trying the caramel I'm still a little nervous about trying that one. And I agree with pp blue cheese all the way!!

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  9. Oh dear, sugar is my nemesis as well. Caramel is one of the things I have yet to do right. Now I'm just plain scared of it. Saying all that, this recipe looks FANtastic! I love all the ingredients and will definitely need to add this to my list of "to-do" Jamie recipes. Love it!

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  10. Delicious! The big blobs of caramel are the chef's treat! ;-)
    Great looking salad.

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  11. Carol, your salad looks delicious! I have never tried apples and pecans in my salads but I am willing to try anything. The blue cheese sounds yummy too. I hope you have a wonderful week.

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  12. Loveing this salad! Caramel pecans are delish, but afraid of big globs or burning The sugar(that wouldnt be the first time). But i'm deffinatly going to try again.

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  13. That looks wonderful. I love nuts made like this in a salad.
    Sherry

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  14. I love pecans on salad! Big globs are so common with sugar! :) Looks delicious despite the globs!

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  15. Oh it looks gorgeous to me! The pecans never would've made it to the salad, though.

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  16. Wow, looks so good. I love pecans and with blue cheese, perfect.

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  17. The salad looks yummy, I'd like blue cheese with it.

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  18. Appetizing salad! I'd sprinkle Feta Cheese on top. Really like Feta. :)
    ~Judy

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  19. Adventures in cooking - LOL! I have to try this - it sounds delicious - even if the pecans clump together :)

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  20. I love pecans so I'd eat that bunch all by itself if I could! I would also add the blue cheese to the salad...yummy! Sweet, salty, crunchy --all the good tastes in one!

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  21. Salad looks yummy....

    The butter in this recipe looks too little for that amount of sugar. Maybe that's why it's clumping. I'd double the butter - or halve the sugar....

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  22. I think the extra chunks of sugar make it all th better. ;-) Your salad looks delicious and thank you for sending it to Souper Sundays for the weekly round up too.

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  23. Oh my!!! I will have to try this recipe this week!!!! Thank you! I have been at a loss some days and this will be wonderful! Cathy

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  24. Oh this sounds delicious, tons of flavor - it's always great to find wonderful salad recipes - thanks for this!
    Mary

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  25. I love apple salad.. in a matter of fact, I love everything made with apples. Great recipe Carol. Looks very falvourful.

    Have a great week ahead.

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  26. Fabulous, Carol! Love the orange in there. How about some gorgonzola?

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  27. Now that is my kind of salad!

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  28. It looks yummy! We get pecans when we travel through GA...oh so good and fresh! Love your Stick family! Aren't they fun to make! ♥

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  29. This looks like a wonderful salad to serve with a summer barbecue. I'd really like to try this. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  30. Great combination of ingredients; love how you added those tasty pecans. Great photo.
    Rita

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  31. That looks great! I normally wouldn't eat salads if there isn't a variety of ingredients. I agree with one of your readers to add gorgonzola. Love that cheese!

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  32. Lovely looking salad, and I agree about the blue cheese. I have the same problem with caramelizing nuts. I usually do it in the oven now, although sometimes I forget about them hidden away in there and they burn :( At least yours still came out sweet and delicious!

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  33. If you lived closer, I'd want to hire you for my personal chef! This sounds great Carol.

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  34. I think making anything that involves melting sugar and making what is really almost candy is difficult. At least for me anyway. They do sell sugared pecans in the supermarket and that is what I will use when I try this salad. Looks and sounds delicious.

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  35. i love crunchy salads like these :)

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  36. This looks delish and as a Southern girl, I would add blue cheese :-)

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  37. Wonder if the coating would have stuck better if you had added the sugar and pecans at the same time?

    There's no butter in this recipe.

    http://www.ehow.com/video_6198226_carmelize-nuts.html

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  38. Wow, your salad looks delicious, and I love the caramel pecans...I always like some sweet in my salad. Have a great week Carol :-)

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  39. Thanks for all the nice comments :)
    Definitely blue cheese next time!

    @ Cindy, thanks for the link. I'll try it, putting the pecans, sugar and butter all together! The flavor with the butter was nice, if it wasn't so globby.

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  40. Absolutely delicious!I am going to try it!Great pictures!Kisses:)

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  41. I'm southern, Carol...definitely throw the blue cheese in next time...or my beloved goat cheese. Yah, still addicted up here. :)

    It looks absolutely wonderful, btw! Wish I had some of it right now!

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