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Sweet and Crunchy Garden Salad

Browning the almonds in sugar gives a great sweet crunch to this salad. I have to state for the record that this is one of the best salads I’ve ever tasted.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1 head iceberg lettuce, rinsed
1 head romaine lettuce, rinsed
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of black pepper
Dash of cayenne
3 green onion (scallion) tops, thinly sliced
1 22-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained and chilled

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Mix the almonds with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring as the sugar melts and the almonds brown. Carefully spread the almonds on an ungreased baking sheet to cool, using a metal spatula; the nuts will be very hot. When completely cooled, break the candied almonds into tiny pieces.

    Step 2

    Tear the iceberg and romaine lettuce into pieces and wash well. Dry the greens thoroughly and transfer them to a salad bowl. Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately.

    Step 3

    Combine the oil, vinegar, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and the parsley, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a bowl, and mix well. Chill covered, in the refrigerator, until ready to serve.

    Step 4

    Combine the lettuce, sliced green onions, candied almonds, and orange segments in a large salad bowl. Just before serving, toss the salad with enough dressing to coat the greens.

  2. From Beth

    Step 5

    Draining and chilling the mandarin oranges in advance will keep them from breaking apart when you toss the salad.

  3. From Gwen

    Step 6

    Seeing is believing! This salad is consumed rapidly even by self-professed salad haters!

Reprinted with permission from Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen: Recipes from My Family to Yours by Trisha Yearwood with Gwen Yearwood and Beth Yearwood Bernard. Copyright © 2008 by Trisha Yearwood. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Trisha Yearwood is a three-time Grammy-award winning country music star and the author of the bestselling cookbook Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen. She is married to megastar Garth Brooks.
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