Escarole with Bacon, Dates, and Warm Walnut Vinaigrette

The dressing was a little too vinegary for my taste. I like all of the other salad ingredients together but possibly with a regular dressing.

• addriana

• 12/8/2011

Delicious! I used half walnut oil, half bacon drippings for the dressing. The authors of this article really outdid themselves with delicious winter salads using readily obtained ingredients.

• chefcarol56

• CT

• 3/8/2011

I thought this recipe was outstanding. I used olive oil instead of walnut oil, however. My guest loved it, too. Very satisfying to have all that fat with your greens. The dates made this salad stand out. A great winter salad.

• Anonymous

• Seattle, WA

• 2/27/2011

Forgot the bacon and use leaf lettuce, but still very tasty.

• awilke

• Dominica

• 2/20/2011

the blue/goat cheese suggestions sound very good; will try one next time. really enjoyed this salad - used spinach since it's a fav around here. manhattan beach cook - try spraying scissors with pam to cut dates.

• Anonymous

• 2/19/2011

Liked this salad but the dressing was a little bland. Perhaps the addition of Dijon is what it needs. The only other problem I had was chopping the dates. They stuck together in a big clump and it was hard to get them distributed throughout the salad. Any suggestions?

• Anonymous

• Manhattan Beach, CA

• 2/17/2011

Added a bit of mustard to the dressing which we made as 3-4 T each olive oil & vinegar. Only used 5 dates as mine were huge. This was delicious!!!

• Anonymous

• somerville ma

• 2/16/2011

can not print

• Bens4

• buffalo ny

• 2/16/2011

I used spinach in this salad instead of escarole, and evoo in the dressing. I thought it was simple and delicious and will be making it again! Next time I might put some sort of cheese in- maybe goat?

• clnordberg

• Bellevue, WA

• 2/3/2011

I thought this was a great winter salad. My guests all loved it. The dressing amount was perfect for the amount of escarole. Use your judgment as to how much should be used, however. The dinner group of 8 voted that it should have MORE dates and perhaps bacon too. I also served blue cheese on the side as it seemed this salad would go well with that and the guests agreed. Blue cheese was gone from the table in nothing flat! All loved it as a simple, and slightly different salad for winter that went extremely well with Italian night! It's a keeper for a repeat.

• d2wachee

• 1/30/2011

As I clicked 'submit' I noticed an typing error. What I meant to say about the dates is that "I would reduce them from 6 to 4..."

• n1cf2

• 1/26/2011

这个概念很好,但恕我直言有些调整needed. My preference is Maverick Applewood Smoked Uncured Center Cut Bacon, which is a bit thicker and meatier, so I would reduce it to from 5 to 4 slices. The sweetness of the dates complement the bacon, but I would reduce them from 4 to 6 so that the sweet notes are less prominent. Way to much oil! I used walnut oil for the flavor, but I think that the classic 3:1 ratio here should should be changed. I would reduce the oil to 2-3 Tbsp. and, if needed, increase the vinegar for piquancy.

• n1cf2

• West Palm Beach

• 1/26/2011