Endive, Apple and Gorgonzola Salad
There are a million variations on the endive and blue cheese fall salad theme, but this one is by far my favorite. I’m not crazy about blue cheese, so when I do add it to recipes, I try to balance it out with sweet and bitter flavors to counter the cheese’s pungency. That works perfectly in this salad – a bite of apple here, a taste of walnuts there, and I’m suddenly a blue cheese fan.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry red wine
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 teaspoon sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
4 heads Belgian endive, thinly sliced
1 Fuji apple, cut into matchstick-size pieces
1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
1. Boil wine in medium saucepan until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool.
2. Whisk in vinegar, rosemary, sugar, and garlic. Whisk in oil and season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Mix in romaine, endive, apple, cheese, and chives in large bowl with dressing. Garnish salad with walnuts and serve.
I LOVE blue cheese – another great combo is gorgonzola and pears. I make a gorgonzola, pear, and walnut pizza…soo good. I imitated the recipe from my favorite Italian pizza joint in NY – Numero 28.
My mouth is watering over here, for real…. I’m not a fan of blue cheese either, so I think I’ll take on this idea on balancing it w/ sweets & sours… That salad looks yummy!
Vette – Yes! Whenever I do have blue cheese, it usually with walnuts. That’s a winning combo.
Mindful – Thanks! Try it out – I go pretty easy on the blue cheese even in this salad, so it’s not overwhelming each mouthful.