Ingredients
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5 -6 cups of hearts romaine leaves (the light green, crisp inner portion of a head of Romaine lettuce)
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2 -3 flavorful apples, peeled and cored, then sliced as described below (such as Braeburn, Fuji, or Honeycrisp)
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scant 1 cup of crumbled blue cheese
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1 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
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1/2 cup red wine vinegar or 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
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2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
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1 teaspoon sugar
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1/4 teaspoon salt (reduced from 1/2 teaspoon)
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1 teaspoon sweet honey mustard (I use Inglehoffer brand made here in Oregon)
Instructions
- 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.