Romaine & Apple Salad with Maytag Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Port Wine Vinaigrette
This is a particularly successful combination of flavors and textures. Blue-veined cheeses, nuts, and port wine is a classic ending to a meal, so you might want to serve this after a main coarse, but it would be an excellent opener as well.
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce, torn into pieces, rinsed, and dried
- 1 bunch watercress, trimmed, rinsed, drained, and dried
- 1 golden delicious apple, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 red delicious apple, cored and thinly sliced
- ½ cup toasted walnut halves
- ½ cup crumbled Maytag blue cheese
- ½ cup Port Wine Vinaigrette (see recipe below)
Port Wine Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup walnut oil
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives and parsley
Directions
- Combine the romaine lettuce and watercress in a salad bowl
- Add the Port Wine Vinaigrette and toss to coat lightly.
- Scatter the sliced apples, walnuts, and blue cheese over the lettuce and serve.
Port Wine Vinaigrette:
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Makes about 1 cup or 10 servings.
Variations: A combination of greens with assertive flavors, such as endive, escarole, chicory, oak leaf, or radicchio are good alternatives to the romaine. Other blue-veined cheeses, such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort, can replace Maytag blue cheese.