Apple-Walnut Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette

duonyte's Note:

From Bon Appetit 1995. My sister discovered this, and our entire family has loved it ever since. Try throwing in some crumbled bleu cheese or gorgonzola - tremendous!

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• ¼ cup fresh cranberries or ¼ cup frozen cranberries , thawed
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 10 cups mixed baby greens
• 2 apples , cored, thinly sliced
• ½ cup chopped walnuts , toasted

Directions:

1. Puree cranberries in processor until smooth. Add vinegar, onion, sugar and mustard and process until well blended.
2. With processor running, gradually add oil and process until well blended.
3. Transfer to medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Dressing can be made one day ahead of time and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature and whisk before using.
5. Combine greens and apples in a large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat and sprinkle with walnuts.
6. Serve, passing remaining dressing separately.
7. Note1: I like Granny Smiths or Jonagold apples in this, although the original recipe calls for red delicious. I sometimes dice the apples, rather than slicing.
8. Note2: I use about 2/3 grapeseed or other neutral oil and 1/3 olive oil.

Reviews

[Maito]

What a nice salad! The dressing was excellent, the balsamic vinegar works really well. I used walnut oil, which paired nicely, and only used 1/4 cup of it, since we like a lower ratio of oil in our dressing. The chopped fresh cranberries are quite mild -- surprisingly, and I only used one teaspoon of sugar (instead of one tablespoon). For us, it would have been too sweet if I had added any more. I used pink lady apples and they gave it a nice balance of tart and sweet as well. Thanks for a great recipe!

[mliss29]

Wow! My husband and I agreed that this salad is awesome! I made it to go with beef stew and they seemed to compliment each other well, although I did think it was a little too elegant for beef stew. :D Very tasty. I only used 1/2 the oil (well, actually I doubled everything else because I cut up too much onion.) and I forgot all about salt & pepper. I used a granny smith apple. It was such a nice combination of flavors. My 3yo son gobbled up his salad, but my 11yo son handed his over to me. Oh well, more for me!

[PaulaG]

This is a very nice salad dressing and it works well with the baby greens and crisp apple. The dressing makes quite a bit and we have enjoyed the salad several times. I highly recommend crumbling some feta over the salad.