RECIPE

Comfort Me With Apples: More Adventures at the Table

By Ruth Reichl (Random House)

WARM SALAD
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1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 pound sliced bacon
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 clove garlic, minced
8 cups assorted bite-size greens, such as curly endive, escarole or baby kale
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
4 ounces fresh mild goat cheese, crumbled
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook the bacon, turning it occasionally, until crisp. Use tongs to transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain, reserving the fat in the skillet.

Crumble the bacon. Add the walnuts and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring, over moderate heat until the nuts and garlic are golden. With a slotted spoon, transfer the walnuts to a large salad bowl and season them with salt.

Add the greens, bacon, lemon juice and goat cheese and toss. Drizzle some of the hot drippings from the skillet over the salad and toss again, adding salt and pepper and more hot drippings and lemon juice, to taste.

Yields 4 servings.