Spiced Pecans, Raspberries and Spring Greens

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the folks at La Nay Ferme Farm in Provo gave me some spinach and other produce, and in exchange, asked if I would come up with some recipes.

One of the bags contained mixed greens, and another one had arugula. For this salad, I mixed the two together. Arugula’s spiky leaves and peppery flavor adds some interest to a salad, but I think it’s better mixed with spinach or other greens instead of eaten all by itself.

The spiced pecans only take about 30 minutes to do, and the spicy sweetness is a great addition to the salad. But if you don’t want to take the time, you can skip that step and just use plain pecans.  My photos show one version of the salad with snap peas (which I love), and another photo without. Let your own taste buds be your guide.

RASPBERRY AND SPICED PECAN SALAD

Spiced Pecans:

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves or allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups whole or halved pecans

Mix all ingredients except pecans together in a shallow sauté pan over medium high heat.  Keep stirring until mixture comes to a boil.  Turn the heat to medium and allow the syrup mixture to continue to boil about 5 minutes, or until syrup is very thick. Add the nuts and stir to coat all of them with the syrup mixture.  Remove from the heat.

Spread the nuts on a pan that has been covered with waxed paper or parchment. Allow the syrup to cool and harden.  Break up any clumps of nuts.

Salad:

6-8 packed cups of  mixed spring greens

1-2 packed cups of arugula

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup spiced pecans

1 to 2 cups sugar snap peas

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese or feta

Bottled salad dressing (recommended: Marzetti Simply Dressed Strawberry Poppyseed)

Mix salad ingredients together. Add dressing as desired. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

— Valerie Phillips, Chewandchat.com