Apple Salad With Candied Walnuts And Cranberries

This Apple Salad is tossed with a simple vinaigrette – because with all the fabulous textures and flavours going on here, we don’t want the dressing to steal the show!!

A SHOW-OFFY APPLE SALAD

There’s 3 types of salads in my world:

quick and easy salads for midweek meals; 2. giant meal salads; and 3. show-offy salads. In my world, the definition of “show-offy salads” are those that require a bit more effort, reserved for gatherings, lunch with friends, and for family dinners where I’m sulking because everybody else “bagsed” the “fun” courses – starters, main and dessert, leaving me with “just” salad. “You want me to bring salad? I’ll show you a salad!!” I fume silently to myself. And thus, I embark on a mission to make a great salad. Tasty, pretty and interesting – but still fresh enough to be a side dish. This Apple Salad with Walnuts and Cranberries is one such salad.

This recipe centres around apples, the crisp, juicy sweetness and pairing it with leafy greens and an assortment of other ingredients to create a salad that’s loaded with great textures. Well, actually, just one apple. That’s all you need for this recipe. Once sliced thinly, one apple stretches quite far. I like to use red apples for this, mainly for colour and also because I prefer the sweet with a bit of tart that is inherent with most varieties of red apples here in Australia. But feel free to use any apple you want!

HOW TO MAKE MY APPLE SALAD

I did say upfront that there’s a few components to this apple salad, and I think it’s worth it if you’re going all out! BUT you can absolutely simplify it – note the significant use of the words “optional step”in the following section:

Candied walnuts (or pecans or other nuts) – Super quick, 5 minutes on the stove for crunchy toffee coated nuts. This is an optional step for show-off purposes; Plump cranberries – Just a 5 minute soak in hot water is all that’s required to transform shrivelled up dried cranberries (or any berries) into plump little balls that burst in your mouth when you bite into them. Again, optional! Sliced apple drizzled with lemon to stop them from browning – optional if serving immediately; Simple dressing made with vinegar, oil, mustard and sugar. Keep it simple to let everything else shine! Leafy greens, onion for a fresh bite and the teeniest crumble of feta or goats cheese mainly for garnish.

As I always do out of interest, I did a quick search on the internet to see how others do Apple Salad. I was somewhat bemused to see an astonishing array of mayo-laden salads made with apple. Suffice to say, this is pretty much on the opposite end of the spectrum. I’d describe this salad as fresh and bright with the zingy dressing, the crisp sweet juiciness of apple, and the leafy greens, with added pops of flavour and textures from the sweet-tart (plumped!) cranberries and the crunch of the candied walnuts. It really is a terrific combination! – Nagi x