Fall Salad with Apples, Candied Pecans, Sharp Cheddar and Creamy Lemon dressing

I found this recipe on Pinterest which led me to this site. I have a friend who loves their recipes and I had all the ingredients. I was to “bring a salad” to a friend get-together with about five families. I used their recipe for the candied pecans but I think as long as you use a cinnamon-sweet version, store-bought would be just fine.

What did I change? Well, I like cheddar in a salad but only if its very sharp or smoked. I upped the chives because I like the kick of onion in a sweeter salad, and changed up the dressing to suit my tastes. The dressing was requested by two party-goers after the fact, and when I made it a second time for a get-together at my house, it was again requested the next day. It’s pretty simple and tastes indulgent (being creamy), but it’s actually nice and light.

This salad is going to be a go-to for me in the upcoming months – the candied pecans from the recipe linked above makes a pretty large amount and stores for weeks (if not months) so it’s nice to know that part is already done. Hope you like this as much as my friends and I did!

Fall Salad with Apples, Candied Pecans, Sharp Cheddar and Creamy Lemon Dressing

Serves 8

Dressing

1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt (nonfat, low-fat or regular)

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp. honey

3 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Salad

16 oz. container baby romaine (or 2 heads romaine lettuce)

1 large Fuji, Gala or Honeycrisp apple, finely chopped or thinly sliced

1/2 c. dried cherries

1 1/2 c. grated sharp or smoked cheddar cheese

1 1/2 c. Candied Pecans (see link above for homemade)

1/4 c. finely chopped chives

1. To make dressing, whisk all “dressing” ingredients together until smoothly combined. Store in fridge, covered, until ready to use.
2. To make salad, place lettuce in large salad bowl (romaine lettuce, if using, should be cleaned, dried, and chopped).
3. Section off a small amount of each “add-in” ingredient to top with, and add the rest to the bowl with the lettuce.
4. Add dressing and toss to combine. Top with the reserved ingredients. Serve.