Ingredients
Apples frying
1 smoked chicken breast
1 large apple
50 g walnuts
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp marsala
Handful of washed and chopped salad leaves
For the dressing
2 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Peel and slice the apple and then fry for about 5-10 minutes in a large frying pan using about a
tablespoon of olive oil to stop it from sticking. The aim is for the apple to become soft rather than
mushy and for it to get a good golden colour.
Add two tbsp of marsala to the pan the alcohol will burn off and the taste infuse the apples. Next
add the maple syrup to the pan so that it bubbles and coats the apples.
Move the apples to a plate to use later and add the walnuts to the pan and stir them round so thay
they get properly covered in the marsala/maple syrup mixture. Add a little more maple syrup at this
stage if you think it is needed. Remove the walnuts to a separate small plate for later and take the
pan off the heat.
Add a couple of tablespoons of cider vinegar to the pan so that any maple syrup and apple residue is
dissolved and will appear in your delicious dressing.
To assemble
Make the dressing with the cider vinegar and olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Toss the salad leaves in the dressing and place them on the serving plate. Slice the smoked chicken breast thinly and lie it on top of the dressed salad leaves with the caramelised apples and walnuts.
Serve with good sourdough bread and plenty of butter.
This is a great way of using a surplus of apples in the late autumn. The caramelized apples make the salad into comfort food rather than Waldorf salad, which is more of an appropriate offering for a hot summer’s day.