Hearts of Romaine Salad With Apples, Cheese and Hazelnuts

"For best results, select crisp, flavorful apples."
 
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photo by lazyme photo by lazyme
photo by lazyme
photo by JackieOhNo! photo by JackieOhNo!
Ready In:
15mins
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

  • Salad

  • 5 -6 cups of hearts romaine leaves (the light green, crisp inner portion of a head of Romaine lettuce)
  • 2 -3 flavorful apples, peeled and cored, then sliced as described below (such as Braeburn, Fuji, or Honeycrisp)
  • scant 1 cup of crumbled blue cheese
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
  • Balsamic Vinaigrette With Sweet Honey Mustard

  • 12 cup red wine vinegar or 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sweet honey mustard (I use Inglehoffer brand made here in Oregon)
  • 14 teaspoon salt (reduced from 1/2 teaspoon)
  • 12 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 23 cup grapeseed oil (in place of canola)
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directions

  • Vinaigrette: In a container, whisk together the vinegars, sugar, sweet mustard, salt and vanilla. Whisk in the oil. Makes a generous 1 cup of vinaigrette.
  • Salad: Arrange the romaine on individual salad plates.
  • To prepare the peeled and cored apples, cut each half into 1/4-inch thick slices, then cut each slice into thirds.
  • Place the apples in a small bowl and toss with enough of the vinaigrette to coat the pieces. You can prepare the apple mixture up to an hour ahead. Important: If you coat the apples with the dressing any longer than that, they will absorb too much of the vinaigrette, which overwhelms the apple flavor.
  • Divide the apple mixture among the salads. Top each serving with a portion of the cheese and then a portion of the hazelnuts.
  • Drizzle an extra bit of the vinaigrette over the greens and around the edges of the salad. Serve.
  • Alternatively: Instead of hearts of Romaine lettuce, consider a mixture of baby spinach, hearts of Romaine and/or other mixed young greens. You could also substitute feta or white cheddar, aged gouda, etc. for the blue cheese.
  • Another serving option would be to assemble the entire salad on a large platter instead of individual salad plates.

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Reviews

  1. Yummy. I don't eat lots of vinaigrette dressings but I really enjoyed this one. The salad was good with lots of crunch. I used a Pink Lady apple for the first time and really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing, CG. Made for Culinary Quest 2014.
     
  2. This was a really lovely salad that is simple, yet elegant. I used Gala apples, which were very flavorful, and white wine vinegar. I chose to serve this in one large bowl, which was then tossed and served. The blue cheese really pops here. I will definitely be making this again! Made for Culinary Quest 2014.
     
  3. A lovely salad! I loved the dressing! I couldn't find hazelnuts, so used toasted pecans. I also used fuji apples and extra virgin olive oil instead of grapeseed oil. Thanks so much for a yummy salad.
     
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Tweaks

  1. A lovely salad! I loved the dressing! I couldn't find hazelnuts, so used toasted pecans. I also used fuji apples and extra virgin olive oil instead of grapeseed oil. Thanks so much for a yummy salad.
     

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