Green Well Salad

This salad is from the book Bread & Wine.  It has quickly become my favorite salad ever, it is perfect in every way!  I didn't even know I liked goat cheese until I ate this salad.  The two things that I did differently than the recipe were to double the amount of maple syrup (because I like my dressings on the sweet side), and to add a 1/2 tsp salt to the onions while they were caramelizing.  

GREEN WELL SALAD

Ingredients:

1 lb mixed greens

2 onions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon butter

2 sliced pears

2 cups red grapes, halved

1 cup dried cherries, chopped if they’re the big kind

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 4 oz container crumbled goat cheese

Maple Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
Begin by caramelizing the onions. Slice them thinly and cook them on medium-low heat in a tablespoon of butter until rich, dark brown, about 45 minutes.

For the vinaigrette:

Spoon Dijon into the bottom of a jelly jar. Add balsamic and maple syrup, salt and pepper. Shake well. Ad oil, and shake again. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Set aside.

For the salad:

Toss the greens with half the vinaigrette, then add the rest of the ingredients, the rest of the dressing, and toss again.

If you’d like to make it a more substantial main-course salad , you can add two cups or so of sliced, cooked chicken as well.

Serves 4-6