Granite Spinach Salad
Author: Granite Cafe, Austin, TX
Recipe Type: salad
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Serves: 4
Though preparation is lengthy, this is a delicious salad.
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnut halves
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- ½ lb. apple smoked bacon
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup whole garlic cloves, peeled
- ¾ cup canola oil, divided
- 1 Tblsp shallots, chopped
- ⅓ cup sherry vinegar
- 2 Tblsp fresh tarragon, divided
- 1 cup goat cheese
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 cup flour
- ½ lb. flat leaf or baby spinach
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 apple, sliced
- 1 oz. Stilton
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Simmer walnut halves in brown sugar and water for about 30 minutes, then drain. (Keep walnut simple syrup for ice cream or coffee.) Bake walnuts in a slow oven at 325 degrees F for about 20 minutes.
- Cook the bacon until crispy. Reserve the bacon grease, and chop the bacon into small pieces.
- Combine the sugar, wine and garlic in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes, until the garlic is soft.
- Separate the garlic from the syrup, and reserve them both.
- In a saute pan, heat ¼ cup bacon grease with the ¼ cup of canola oil. Add the shallots and saute until brown, approximately 1 minute. Do not blacken!
- Add the vinegar and ¼ cup garlic syrup and heat until the mixture is just warmed through. Remove from heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of tarragon, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper.
- Mix together the goat cheese, ⅓ cup candied garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and form the mixture into 2 ounce disks.
- Mix together the buttermilk and the egg. In a separate bowl combine the chopped walnuts, breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon tarragon and coriander.
- Roll the goat cheese medallions first in flour, then in the buttermilk and egg mixture, and finally in the walnuts and breadcrumbs.
- Heat ½ cup canola oil in a skillet and pan-fry the medallions. Make sure all sides are lightly browned.
- Assemble the salad. Rinse and pick the spinach, then set side.
- Quickly heat all of the remaining ingredients, using a small handful each of onions, apples, candied walnuts per serving, bacon bits and stilton to taste in a stainless bowl placed directly onto the stove.
- Remove the bowl from the heat, add the spinach and quickly toss it all together while the dressing is still warm. Top with the goat cheese medallions.