Apple Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette

Late April. Terry is back in Turley. The house is quiet. The week with her was the week with her. I am still processing it.

The wedding is three weeks out. The intensive food prep starts now. I made stocks Tuesday — beef, venison, chicken — all into the freezer. Wednesday I made the bean-bread base for the croutons that will go on the salad course. Thursday I made the tortillas for the empanadas. Miriam came over Saturday and we made a hundred and twenty empanadas together — beef-and-sweet-potato, the way her grandmother had done — and froze them.

Friday Linda Walkingstick called about the fall cohort. Henry, Macy's boyfriend, applied. He was in. Linda said: he's a non-citizen but the slot opened because we got more state funding. He's a strong applicant. I said: he is. She said: thank you for the recommendation. I said: thank you for the slot.

Saturday I called Macy. I told her Henry was in. She squealed. She said: he's going to be so happy. She said: I'll let him tell you. Henry called me ten minutes later. He said: thank you, sir. I said: don't thank me. Thank Linda. He said: I'm going to learn from you. I said: you're going to learn from us — me and Dwight. He said: I can't wait. I said: come visit before the cohort starts. He said: I will. He said: thank you, Mr. Whitehawk. I said: Jesse. He said: Jesse. We hung up.

Sunday afternoon I sat on the porch with Hannah. We talked about Terry. She said: it was the right time. I said: I'm glad I did it. She said: she might not have done another spring. I said: I know. She said: but you got this one. I said: I got this one.

The salad course was always going to be this one — tart apple, something with bite in the dressing, and those bean-bread croutons I made Wednesday giving it a grounding note that no store-bought crouton could. When you spend a week making stocks and rolling a hundred and twenty empanadas with Miriam, the salad has to hold its own without fuss. This dressing does that. It’s sharp and a little sweet, the way a good working meal should be, and it comes together in the time it takes to slice an apple.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 large crisp apples (such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn), cored and thinly sliced
6 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/3 cup crumbled sharp cheddar or aged white cheddar
1/4 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
Croutons for serving (bean-bread or rustic sourdough)
For the vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons whole-grain or Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the maple syrup, mustard, and apple cider vinegar until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously until the dressing is emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust — add a little more vinegar if you want more bite, more maple if you want it rounder.
Prep the apples. Slice the apples thin. If you’re working ahead, toss the slices with a squeeze of lemon juice to hold their color.
Build the salad. Spread the greens across a large platter or toss them in a wide bowl. Arrange the apple slices over the top, followed by the red onion, cheese, and toasted nuts.
Dress and finish. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving. Add croutons on top. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apple Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette — The Salad Course We Built From Scratch