I think we could all strive to eat a bit more salad, right? We try our best to get a variety of vegetables and fruits throughout the week, but know we could really up our greens and the easiest way for us is making a simple side salad that’s tasty! I don’t know about y’all, but side salads can always seem a bit sad, almost an afterthought. Some basic boxed greens, a few tomatoes, and a mediocre dressing. You eat it, reluctantly, to feel better about getting your veggies in for the day. You likely don’t really enjoy it. Well, it doesn’t have to be boring or overly complicated to create an enticing side salad!

Inspiration for the Salad:

This recipe is inspired by a side salad we had once at R&D Kitchen here in Dallas. I believe it was called the Pine Room salad, and it appeared simple but packed a punch in the flavor game. We were both actually sort of blown away at how tasty it was even though it seemed incredibly simple. We fought over every last bite, ignoring the other items on the table!

What made it special:

1. The textures – it had the crunch from pecans, the creaminess of white cheddar, and the crispness of fresh lettuce.
2. The balance of sweet and salty – The pecans were glazed, and the dressing had a hint of sweetness, which both balanced the salty cheese and crisp lettuce very well.
3. The quality of the ingredients – we harp on this A LOT but fresh good quality ingredients always make an incredible difference in your cooking, if you can afford to indulge. Buying a fresh head of lettuce and chopping it up is always going to taste better than bagged or boxed greens.  A block of aged white cheddar will always trump bagged pre-shredded cheddar cheese. You get the picture. On that note here a couple of our favorite products for ensuring the freshest greens
   • A simple salad spinner to wash your greens but also to dry them. No one wants wet soggy salad!
   • A box to store your greens in the fridge to prevent wilting. You can also store in ziplocks with a paper towel, but we prefer the box to reduce waste! We’ve kept salad greens for an entire week in this without any noticeable wilting. Also works great for herbs like parsley and cilantro.

The Results:

We took our notes and recreated, to the best of our abilities, this delicious salad at home. We paired it with a simple honey dijon vinaigrette – to get that balance of sweet and salty. I have to say we impressed ourselves with the results! Also, this dressing is fantastic – we highly recommend doubling or tripling the recipe and keeping a jar in the fridge to have all week long.

So there you have it. A simple side salad with just a few quality ingredients that will have you fighting over the bowl. No more boring side salads!

For more inspiration to get your greens check our our Chipotle Chicken Salad or our Tuna Nicoise Salad!

Our Favorite Side Salad with Pecans and Aged Cheddar

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Servings: 2 People

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 Head Lettuce Preferably Green or Red Leaf, washed and chopped
• ½ Cup Grated Cheddar We use aged white cheddar
• ¼ Cup Glazed Pecans or Walnuts Chopped

Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper

Method

 

1. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. In a large salad bowl, add the chopped lettuce and top with grated cheddar and chopped pecans.
3. Just prior to serving, add the salad dressing and toss well to combine.

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