Come mid-January, I'm hankering for a good salad. I love my roasts, chilis, and casseroles as much as the next Midwestern gal, but I crave the crisp green goodness that only a big plate of salad can give me. Enter: Winter Salad. All of winter's bounty tossed in a warm bacon vinaigrette and topped with the EASIEST candied pecans! It's good as a side dish and even filling enough to be a main dish.
The base of this salad is spinach and chopped Brussels sprouts. Yes RAW Brussels sprouts. The first time I ever had raw Brussels in my salad, I was skeptical at first, too - y'all know I prefer my sprouts blackened till next Tuesday. But they add the perfect crunch, and just the right amount of that Brussels sprout flavor.
Oh, and if ever you find yourself in charge of making a salad for a winter gathering (I'm looking at you, Thanksgiving), this is a great thing to make! It would make a real pretty layered salad if you happen to have a trifle bowl or some other glass-type dish. And there are conveniently 7 components to this salad (count them: spinach, Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, red onion, blue cheese, bacon vinaigrette, candied pecans), which makes this ...drum roll... a 7 layer salad!
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