kale “bacon” harvest salad with bourbon candied walnuts

No autumn could pass me by without a beautiful salad centerpiece.

I think, since FMG’s conception, that I’ve created a new salad each fall/holiday season. I think it’s a nice transition into more festive and cozier fare: healthy, light, but celebrating all the culinary goodies wrought by the (theoretically) changing leaves and overall switch out of summer.

I love this one. I wanted to make tofu bacon, since it’s a nice accompaniment to have around for various sandwiches and omelets and other doings – and I’ve been quite into making “bacon” egg and cheese breakfast bagels lately.

Then we’ve got a splash of booze in a divine iteration of candied walnuts, which are very simple to bake up (but also easy to fuck up cos that shit burns like the dickens if you turn away for .2 seconds), and a tangy-sweet fig vinaigrette laced with dijon for a hearty kale marinade. Looks like there’s a lot of moving parts, but it’s relatively easy to multitask if you’re strategic.

And yes, if you’re a meat-eater, real bacon is just fine too! So long as you got a lil salty, umami boost in your salad, you’re good to go.

This is making me pre-hyped for Thanksgiving, ya’ll. Or maybe that’s because I just ate stuffing-flavored ripple potato chips. Bruh, they’re so good…

Ahem. Moving on.

Bourbon for Deez Nuts

Bourbon candied walnuts. Stuff of dreams. Honestly, candying any nut is glorious, and especially divine on top of a crisp salad. But the addition of bourbon is just so me.

Heat your oven to 400 and line a large baking sheet with parchment. Bonus: once finish the nuts and remove the parchment, you can reuse the same pan for the bacon. Woop!

Mix up some brown sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, cinnamon, chili powder, and instant espresso. Toss with the walnuts and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast 8-10 minutes, scooting the walnuts around once halfway through baking time. Watch them very closely. Your nuts will scorch if left to their own devices, unsupervised. Scorched nuts ain’t good for no one.

Cool a few minutes on the sheet, then break the nuts apart (ouch) with a spatula. Place into a bowl or jar as a holding tank while you whip up your tofu bacon. Nibble on a few, too, while you work through the steps of the salad.

Baconater

Or baconeater, if you will.

Tofu bacon does take some forethought, so keep that in mind with this recipe. You can cut down on the day-of prep time by baking the bacon – baconing the baking – the day prior, or earlier in the day. I think it’s a worthy addition to this wonderful dish, but you can omit it if time is pressing.

Speaking of pressing…start by squeezing that water out of the tofu while the walnuts bake. I make a homemade press by placing paper towels on the plate, then the tofu, more towels, another plate, and my cast iron skillet. Works a charm. Let the tofu sit about 10 minutes.

Then, whisk up your sauce: soy, maple syrup, smoked paprika, chili powder, and black pepper. Slice the tofu into thin strips – as thin as you can make them sans a whole lot of breaking and crushing and swearing – and set onto a big, lightly greased baking sheet. Remember the dude we used for the walnuts? Use it again!

Pour the marinade over the tofu. Baste one side with a brush to thoroughly coat the strips, then gently flip the strips and baste the opposite side. I usually let the tofu sit another 10-15 minutes, but you can also just pop the bacon into the oven and bake right away. 20-25 minutes should do it, pausing halfway through to turn each strip over. Thicker strips will take longer to bake, so keep that in mind – and, the tofu will crisp up more as it cools.

The good news about both the walnuts and the bacon? You’ll make much more than you need for this single recipe, so you use your leftovers for any other fun culinary project calling for either. The bacon lasts about a week in the fridge (it will lose its crisp somewhat), and the nuts are great for about 3 weeks or so, sealed, on the counter.

Figgy Vinny

The fig vinaigrette is the last step in our major salad prep. This part takes about 2 minutes. Whew!

Shake or whisk olive oil, apple cider vinegar, fig preserves, dijon mustard, chopped oregano, and garlic. Taste for salt and pepper and add more as needed. The dressing is a rad seafood or poultry marinade too!

Now, make your salad. The fastest part of the process. Throw lots of chopped kale in a big bowl and massage with a few spoonfuls of dressing: this removes the bitter, tough taste and texture of the kale and readies it to receive its honorary toppings. In this case, sliced apples, avocado, the bacon and walnuts, and slivers of white cheddar cheese.

Arrange your goodies overtop. Keep the rest of the vinaigrette on hand to drizzle over your portion. Your guests might also want some more chopped bacon or walnuts, so place little bowls of those on the table too, for easy snatching.

This salad holds up great for meal prep – omit the avocado if storing for a significant amount of time – throughout the week, thanks to kale’s sturdiness as a salad green. Eat it up in no longer than five days, though, to prevent soggy nuts.

Welcome fall. Welcome, ya’ll.

Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!

More salads to harvest:

Autumn Harvest Quinoa Honeycrisp Salad

Shaved Brussels Sprout and Chickpea Caesar Salad

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Kale and Feta Salad

Honeycrisp Apple and Blue Cheese Autumn Salad

Kale Pomegranate and Maple Chickpea Salad

Harvest Fig and Kale Crunch Salad with Tahini Cider Dressing