Apple Cranberry Pecan Salad
A crisp, refreshing kale salad! With apples, crispy bacon, cranberries, and homemade (and easy!) candied pecans. A perfect holiday salad!
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon, diced
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch kale, stems removed and leaves shredded
- 1 medium apple, diced
- ½ cup sliced celery
- ½ cup dried sweetened cranberries
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
for the candied pecans
- 1 large egg white
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 2 cups pecan halves
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat; transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, shallot and Dijon; let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in olive oil and honey; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in kale and massage for 1 minute.
- Top with bacon, apple, celery, cranberries, feta cheese and candied pecans, and gently toss to combine.
for the candied pecans
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until frothy, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cayenne pepper.
- Stir in pecans until well combined and evenly coated.
- Spread pecan mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring at halftime. Let cool completely.
Notes
- Prep ahead of time. Save time by making the dressing up to 1 week in advance, and prepping and dicing the vegetables 1-2 days prior and storing them in airtight containers in the fridge.
- Cut in uniform size. Cut all of the salad ingredients in similar size pieces for a consistent bite.
- Use extra virgin olive oil. High quality extra virgin olive oil is ideal for salad dressings.
- Massage the kale. Massaging the kale softens the leaves, making them more tender and flavorful.
- Start with raw pecans. Raw, unsalted pecan halves are best to begin with to control the salt level and to prevent over-salting the nuts when baking.
- Stir at the halfway mark. Stir the pecans after 15 minutes of baking to help the nuts coat evenly and to prevent clumps.
- Cool completely. Let the candied pecans cool completely on the baking sheet. The sugar shell will harden and crisp up as it cools to room temperature.
- Store the candied pecans. The candied pecans can be made in advance and stored at room temperature or the freezer to extend shelf life even further.