Apple-Walnut Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette

Submitted by duonyte

"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!"

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 59.14 ml fresh cranberries or 59.14 ml frozen cranberries, thawed
• 59.14 ml balsamic vinegar
• 14.79 ml chopped red onion
• 14.79 ml sugar
• 4.92 ml Dijon mustard
• 236.59 ml vegetable oil, see Note2
• 2365.9 ml mixed baby greens
• 2 apples, cored, thinly sliced
• 118.29 ml 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: This is an older recipe, and I use much less oil in it these days - maybe 2/3 cup? I just pour it in and taste until it tastes right. I use about 2/3 grapeseed or other neutral oil and 1/3 olive oil.

Reviews

[Brooke the Cook in]

This was a really great salad! I loved the tart dressing; it went so well with the granny smith apples and toasted walnuts. I replaced some of the oil (I used olive) with pomegranate juice to save a few calories and sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. DH said he wished it had some cheese, so next time I'm make it with chevre or gorgonzola.

 

[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!

 

[NorthwestGal]

This is such a wonderful salad. The cranberry vinaigrette is quite tasty and adds a mildly tart yet slightly sweet tone to the salad greens. I used a bag of pre-made garden salad for the greens, and I tried to pick out the carrot and radish slices, but a few made their way into the salad. But I'm definitely going to remember this salad recipe for next Christmas when cranberries are fresh and easy to find in the grocery stores. We all really liked this salad. Thank you, duonyte.

 

[DailyInspiration]

Loved the cranberry dressing on this salad -- it was wonderful with the apple slices. I keep cranberries in the freezer and use them all year long. This dressing will definitely be made again and again. : )