Apple Pecan Salad & Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

Name: Apple Pecan Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Yield: 4 as a side
Ingredients: 120 grams mixed leaves (approximately 4 cups); 2 apples (1 used a granny smith and a red delicious); ½ red onion; ½ cup Pecans; Sea salt and cracked black pepper; ¼ cup Greek yoghurt; 2 tbsps apple cider vinegar; 2 tbsps orange juice; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp orange zest; 2 tsps poppy seeds

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Apple Pecan Salad will be your easy go-to salad during autumn, juicy, crisp apples, greens smothered in a decadently creamy orange poppy seed dressing and
voila you will have magic on a plate!

Such an easy salad to put together and more than likely you will have most of the ingredients in your autumn pantry already- greens, apples, pecans and red onions.

You can easily swap the creamy orange poppy seed dressing for something a bit simpler if you prefer. But trust me you are just going love its creamy sweet deliciousness smothered over your greens and apples.

We served ours with crackled pork rack but would also be great with roast chicken or turkey.

The ingredients in this apple pecan salad

APPLES

You can use any apples that take your fancy I have used a crisp tart Granny smith apples and oh so sweet red delicious.

GREENS

Use anything thing from baby spinach, peppery rocket, shredded silverbeet, or massaged kale instead of the mixed salad greens that I have used here.

PECANS

Pecans with their rich brown kernels and grooved surface add a nice buttery crunch to this salad. But feel free to use any nuts that you have to hand such as walnuts, almonds, or even some hazelnuts would be good here.

RED ONION

We have used half a red onion for its colour and sweetness in this salad, you can leave it out completely or use a small French shallot instead.

THE DRESSING

This salad is brought together with this creamy, crunchy poppy seed dressing made healthy by the use of Greek yoghurt instead of mayonnaise. It is thin so if you prefer it a little thicker just add another 2 tbsps of Greek yoghurt just add the dressing gradually so that you don’t drown your salad.

If you want to try something different you could try maple dressing instead in a glass jar add 3 tbsps oil, 3 tbsps apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar or white balsamic) 1 tbsps maple syrup, season and shake until combined.

How to make this apple pecan salad…

1Prepare your apples…
Wash your apples and remove the core with an apple corer, slice them thinly into half-moons either with a v-slicer or sharp knife.
To prevent your apples from browning place them in salted water using one teaspoon of salt for every two cups of water for 10 minutes. You will be amazed at what a huge difference this will make. Then strain and rinse them just before making up your salad.

CORING RED AND GREEN APPLES WITH AN APPLE CORER ON A WOODEN BOARD — CORE YOUR APPLES

THINLY SLICING RED AND GREEN APPLES USING A MANDOLINE SLICER — THINLY SLICE YOUR APPLES

APPLE SLICES SUBMERGED IN SALTED WATER TO STOP BROWNING — SUBMERGE YOUR APPLES IN SALTED WATER TO PREVENT BROWNING

STRAINING AND RINSING THIN APPLE SLICES — STRAIN & RINSE YOUR APPLES

2Make your dressing…
Place the yoghurt, orange juice and zest, apple cider vinegar, oil and poppy seeds in a small mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper and stir until the poppy seeds and zest are evenly distributed throughout.

INGREDIENTS FOR CREAMY POPPYSEED DRESSING — ADD INGREDIENTS TO BOWL

STIRRING CREAMY POPPYSEED DRESSING — MIX UNTIL COMBINED

3Make up your salad…
Wash the salad leaves under cold running water, remove any damaged or wilted leaves then, either pat or spin dry in a salad spinner to remove excess water.
Remove the papery skin, tops and bottoms from your onion, rinse then cut into half-moons.
Drain your apples and pat dry.
Place all your ingredients in a large mixing bowl (reserve 1-2 tbsps of pecans to use as a garnish), season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Pour over your dressing and toss until everything has been well coated with the dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.
Arrange in a salad bowl, scatter the reserved pecans on top and serve immediately.

ALL THE INGREDIENTS FOR APPLE PECAN SALAD IN A MIXING BOWL WITH DRESSING ON THE SIDE — PLACE ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS IN A MIXING BOWL

MIXING APPLE PECAN SALAD WITH CREAMY POPPYSEED DRESSING — POUR OVER THE DRESSING AND MIX UNTIL WELL COMBINED

Some tips for apple pecan salad…

The best way I have found to prevent your apples from browning is to soak them in a solution of salt water for 10 minutes. They stay white and crisp for hours and for a salad the salty taste works well OR you can rinse it off if you prefer. Just use 1 teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of water.
While you can prepare this salad an hour or two (at the most) ahead do not pour the dressing over your salad until you are ready to serve otherwise it will become soggy.
You can easily make your dressing a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge or why not make a double batch to use in other salads such as a kale salad or even coleslaw.

Try some more of our Leaf Salad recipes…