Rustic Creole Salad

I love everything about the fall, especially the cool, crisp air and the foods that we associate with the season. Apple pie! Butternut squash soup! Apple cider donuts! Beyond the desserts, I love the ingredients of fall in our salads.

Here is a great little rustic fall salad with a Creole twist. This is a great salad to pair with gumbo, jambalaya, or even a good fried chicken dinner!

Let's Gather Our Ingredients

For the Salad

1 head of Romane Lettuce

3 cups loose spinach

4 hard-boiled eggs (quartered)

6 to 8 strips of bacon (crumbled)

1 leek (sliced thin, chopped)

1/4 red onion (finely chopped)

For the Dressing

2/3 cup of Buttermilk

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup whole milk

4 teaspoons lemon juice

4 teaspoons Creole seasoning

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, minced

Prepping Your Ingredients

Hard-boiled eggs - I love to place the eggs in a pot with cold water, bring to a boil, and turn off the heat. Let the eggs sit for 15 to 17 minutes. Rinse under cold water and then peel. Cut into quarters.

Lettuce and spinach - This dressing is thick, so you will want your lettuce leaves to be somewhat large in order to stand up to the dressing. It is best to use lettuce that is already cleaned and washed, as you will not want your lettuce and spinach to be wet or to wilt.

Leeks - Don't forget to wash your leeks. They can be full of dirt! I like to pull off the outer layer and then rinse the remaining leeks. I slice the white portion into thin circles and then slice the circles in half.

Red onion - I dice 1/4 of a red onion. If you desire more, feel free to add.

Bacon - what to say! Cook it however you want, but don't let it bring all of the grease into your salad. However, rolling the hard-boiled eggs in the bacon fat might kick up the flavor just a wee bit.

Salt - I do not recommend adding salt to the dressing as the creole seasoning tends to be very salty. If you use a salt-free seasoning, use caution with adding.

Milk - If you prefer a thicker dressing, feel free to reduce the milk to 1/4 cup or less.

Putting the Salad Together

You can add the lettuce, spinach, leeks, and red onion together and mix them in your serving dish. Crumble the bacon over the mixture and then add the eggs, placing them on top.

It's Time to Mix

Measure out the buttermilk, mayonnaise, and milk and add to your container. Whisk together before adding the other ingredients.

Add in the lemon juice and whisk again.

Finally, add all of your dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients (Creole seasoning, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic powder (or minced garlic).

Mix one last time before you seal up the container, and refrigerate the mixture for 2 hours before serving. (Don't worry if you don't have time to chill the dressing. The flavors will not be as bold if you enjoy the dressing right away, but if you really want to enjoy the full flavor profile, it's best to wait.)

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Thanks so much for reading my recipes. If you like this one, please check out some of my other recipes.

Here is a link to my other recipes.

Stuffed peppers

Apple Vinaigrette

Tomatoes

Spicy BBQ Rub

Sunburst Fruit Salad

To find the rest of my stories, please click this LINK.