- 15 mins
- 15 mins
Ingredients
- Salad:
- Spicy Glazed Pecan
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 TBSP water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 1/2 cups pecan halves
- 1 lb baby spinach leaves
- 3 TBSP olive oil
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 cup diced melon (i.e. cantaloupe)
- 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp chocolate syrup
Preparation
Step 1
Spicy Glazed Pecans:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with greased parchment paper or foil. Combine the sugar, water, salt and cayenne i a heavy saucepan (non-stick preferably). Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Boil, without stirring, for 2 minutes. Turn off the4 heat and add pecan, stirring for 1 minute until the pecans are coated with the syrup. Transfer pecans to the cookie sheet, spreading and separating them as evenly as possible. Work quickly. Place in oven; bake unit the pecans start to brown, approximately 10-13 minutes, depending on the oven. When browned, carefully slide the parchment/foil off the pan onto cooling rack or table. Separate the pecans with a fork and shake around a bit so they are not stuck to each other or the parchment/foil. Cool completely. If you aren't going to use them right away, store in an airtight container.
For the salad:
Toss the spinach with the olive oil in a large bowl. Clean and slice/dice the fruit. In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar and chocolate syrup. Add the fruit and mix well. Arrange the fruit on top of the spinach leaves and sprinkle with spicy glazed pecans.
Note: pecans move rather quickly from brown to burned! These pecans are great in salads or to eat as a snack.