Spinach Salad with Sweet-Spicy Nuts, Apples, Feta and Bacon (My Most Favorite Salad Ever)

1. For the vinaigrette dressing, shake all the ingredients together in a sealed mason jar until well combined or run them through a quick blender cycle. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The dressing can be made up to a week in advance.

2. For the nuts, put them on a baking sheet and lightly toast them in a 350 F oven for 8-10 minutes, checking often so they don’t burn. While they toast, place the sugar, cayenne and salt in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the sugar mixture until it liquefies completely, adjusting the heat so it doesn’t bubble and burn. Toss in the toasted nuts when they are done baking and stir to coat the nuts with sugar. Remove from heat. Let the sugared nuts cool completely.

3. To assemble the salad, toss all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl along with the cooled nuts. Serve immediately with the vinaigrette alongside. All the components can be measured out/prepped ahead of time and stored separately (I like to soak the apples in a bit of lemon juice in water to help prevent browning). Just toss right before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe source: barely adapted from my virtual friend, Kim.

Note: Kim, who gave me this recipe, alerted me to the most magnificent tip. I love onions but hate the after effects of eating them raw in a salad. To temper the onions a bit, soak the onion slices covered in cold water with a bit of baking soda (I use about 1/2 teaspoon soda). Let them sit for 15-20 minutes then rinse and drain well. Also, in my pictures, disregard the overly yellow color of my vinaigrette. I went a little crazy with the mustard when I made it this time. Yours probably won’t be quite this yellow. Finally, this recipe makes an excellent main dish if served alongside grilled chicken. Keep in mind that all the quantities can easily be adapted according to taste. Yum!