Autumn Salad

14 November 2018 by Natanja

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  • A colourful autumn salad with balsamic glazed onions, fresh pears and crunchy walnuts topped off with a ginger vinaigrette.

    Autumn salad with lambs lettuce, pears, onions and walnuts on a dark brown plate.

    I am in desperate need of some salad right now. After recipe testing so many decadent dessert recipes, which are coming up on the blog these next few weeks, I feel like I cannot do another dessert recipe. I am a dessert person for sure, but even I have my limits. Last week I had not one but TWO whole cakes in the fridge which I had to photograph for a freelance job. Even with freezing things, gifting some and eating some, we still had a bunch of leftovers. 

    Don’t get me wrong. I love cake. In fact, I am one of those weird foodies who leaves comments on Instagram such as “Omg cake is life!” (especially this chocolate cake). I also love eating dessert for breakfast and throwing too much brown sugar in my chili, because sweet= delicious. But lately I have also been trying to pair those sweet flavours with acidic, or spicy flavors to balance them. 

    Especially that balance of different flavours is what makes this salad so delicious. Sweet caramelized onions with crisp pears, crunchy walnuts and a spicy ginger vinaigrette make a super delicious combo. 

    Steaming balsamic glazed onions in a sauté pan.

    Balsamic Glazed Onions

    My favourite part of this salad, is hands down, the balsamic glazed onions. They are like a small flavour bombs that goes off in your mouth. Totally worth it taking those few extra minutes to caramelize them as opposed to just adding them in raw. They are so good I’m thinking about doing a whole recipe dedicated to them. In fact, after a taste of these onions, you’ll probably want to prepare all your onions this way in the future…unless you are making onion rings, because those are incredible as well. I’m just brainstorming here, but I’m thinking these glazed onions would also be a delicious add-in for these burgers. 

    Using seasonal ingredients, such as we are doing for this salad here, is a great way to get fresher and less expensive food items into your diet. It’s also way better for the environment as your food isn’t shipped from far away countries. Especially lambs lettuce is a great type of lettuce to enjoy during the colder months. The slightly nutty taste makes it the perfect base for our autumn salad. Pears are also a great and versatile autumn produce. If you do not have any one hand, feel free to sub them with apples. I highly suggest using red onions as opposed to regular yellow onions for the best flavor.

    A closeup of the autumn salad on a dark brown plate.

    This autumn salad also makes a great entree for entertaining. If you want to go that extra mile and serve your guests a fall inspired salad, this is the way to go! Serve it up with a good bottle of wine and you’ve already mastered dinner.

    If you give this autumn salad a try, let me know in the comment section down below!

    Autumn salad with lambs lettuce, pears, onions and walnuts on a dark brown plate.
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    Autumn salad with lambs lettuce, pears, onions and walnuts on a dark brown plate.

    Autumn Salad


    • Yield: 4 1x

    Description

    A colourful autumn salad with balsamic glazed onions, fresh pears and crunchy walnuts topped off with a ginger vinaigrette.


    Ingredients

    Scale

    Autumn Salad

    • 2 medium red onions
    • 2 pears
    • 150g lambs lettuce (5.3oz)
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 1 tablespoon water
    • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
    • handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

    Ginger Vinaigrette 

    • 4 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
    • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Instructions

    1. For the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients until well combined.
    2. To make the salad, cut the onions and the pears into thin slices and set aside. Wash the lambs lettuce and remove any excess water.
    3. In a medium sauté pan, heat olive oil and sauté the onions for about 3 minutes or until soft. Then add the brown sugar and water and continue cooking until onions are nicely caramelized. Deglaze with balsamic vinegar.
    4. Divide the lambs lettuce on 4 plates, add the pear slices and warm onions. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top and add the dressing. Serve immediately. 

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