Romaine & Apple Salad with Maytag Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Port Wine Vinaigrette

Chef Richard 6 Servings 20 minutes

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.