You can absolutely rise to meet the challenge of the delicious fall salad. After all, with the waning of the year come two of those most amazing categories of edibles: apples and nuts. As long as you have access to some salad greens, all you really need to do is add said apples and nuts. Dress your salad with your choice of vinaigrette and you're good to go.

So that's what I've been doing. This was not only the salad I made for Thanksgiving dinner (plus pomegranate arils in that case) but also the only one I've wanted to eat for weeks.

I think a crisp texture is best in this kind of salad, especially if you're going to serve it as a counterpoint to a plate of potatoes, rolls, and gravy. So I tend to choose sturdier salad leaves, such as romaine or butter (yes, they have good texture, especially at the core), and use crisp apples, like fuji or honeycrisp. The nuts are crunchy by virtue of roasting. Put it all together and you have a mouthful of delightful & refreshing salad. Hooray!

I prefer almonds above other nuts, although I am also totally planning to use some of my leftover cashew, walnut, and almond mix from T-day in the next incarnation of this salad. Any good roasted almond presents a great counterpoint to the tartness of apple. Lately I've been going for the super-indulgent sesame-glazed almonds that Rodin Farms sells at our farmer's market. They are REALLY GOOD. I need to figure out how to replicate these guys at home, but until then, I am more than happy to eat plenty of theirs.


Fall salad with apples and almonds

salad greens
an apple
roasted almonds
vinaigrette
pepper

Wash, dry, and chop your salad greens. Distribute them evenly among your plates.

Core an apple and cut it into appropriate chunks. Roughly chop a couple handfuls of nuts. Scatter handfuls of each over the plates of greens.

Dress with the vinaigrette of your choice, grind some black pepper over the top of each plate, and serve.

(You could, of course, dress and toss your entire salad together before serving it. I tend not to, because I am lazy. Besides, the layers makes for a much prettier presentation.)

Basic vinaigrette

1 tbsp champagne vinegar (or your choice)
4-5 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
good grind of pepper and shake of salt
handful of finely chopped fresh parsley

Put all the ingredients in a small jar, lid, and shake until well emulsified. Shake again immediately before serving. Hooray!

Which salads are your fall favorites?