Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Are those footsteps rustling through autumn leaves? No. Not yet. Just me crunching my way through some of my favorite fall flavors—green leaves and such.
This salad is great. It’s got the crunchy sweet licorice-like flavor of fresh fennel, the crisp-tart goodness of Granny Smith apples, the toasty walnuts, and the piquant-yet-creamy blue cheese. Pile it all up high on top of buttery Boston lettuce leaves and jump right in! It’s so good, you’ll want to rake some back up with your fork and dive in again.
Fennel-Apple Salad
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 ½ teaspoons mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1 medium bulb fennel, stalks trimmed off, cored, and very thinly sliced
1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored and very thinly sliced
1 head Boston lettuce, rinsed, torn into pieces, and spun dry
In a medium bowl, whisk together honey, mustard, cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Slowly drizzle oil into bowl, whisking constantly until fully incorporated.
Add cheese, walnuts, fennel, and apple to the vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Add lettuce, and toss again. Transfer to a platter. Serve immediately.
Editor’s Note: Angela Denstad Stigeler writes a food column each week for the Caledonia Argus. She, her husband and their two young children live in Caledonia.
|
