The most requested of all our recipes over the years at the Continental Divide, and now at The Mint is for our “ house “ Cajun Pecan dressing. We are surprised that the FDA hasn’t tried to made this a controlled substance as there are quite a few documented cases of addiction to this wonderful salad dressing among our former customers. We even thought about bottling it but decided that the taste was never quite the same as the fresh product so we gave up the idea. Try a batch of this spicy, sweet and sour concoction on some fresh greens and you’ll be hooked too.

Dressing:

1/3 C honey
1/3 C toasted pecans
1/3 C coarse ground mustard
1 t cayenne
1/3 c red wine vinegar
4 C canola or peanut oil
3/4 C water
3/4 t salt

Garnish For Salad

Red Bell Peppers thinly sliced
Sweet Red Onions thinly sliced
Toasted ½ or whole pecans
Butter
Popcorn salt
Cayenne Pepper

In a sauté pan on high heat melt some butter. Add the pecans and cook until they are well browned but not burned, tossing frequently. Just before removing from the heat sprinkle a small amount of the salt and cayenne to taste. You’ll have to experiment to the spiciness level that you desire. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Allow the nuts to cool. Be sure you have made enough to make the dressing and have some left for the garnish.

In a food processor, add honey, pecans, mustard, and blend well. Slowly blend in the oil, then do the same with the water and red wine vinegar. Be sure that the consistency is creamy. If the mixture breaks you can usually bring it back by adding ice cubes. This recipe was made to be experimented with, don’t be afraid to change proportions to suit your own taste.
We like to garnish the fresh greens with thinly sliced sweet red peppers, red onions, and plenty of the toasted pecans.