Cranberry-Blue Cheese Salad with Curried Pecans and Raspberry Vinaigrette

Sure, we just had a Southwestern salad with creamy cilantro dressing a mere 24-hours ago here at The CookMobile but yah know what? When a girl twirls infront of the man of her life, stating but really asking, “I need to lose weight”, while coyly batting her eyes and he answers matter-of-factly, “Start working on it”, without so much of a bat of an eye, she has no recourse but to let go of the greasy burger in hand and live on salads until the day she takes her last fat gulp of breath. That’s all I gotta say to you, you…you know who you are.

Ohh, how I enjoyed this salad! It is what spring is about~crisp romaine lettuce, fresh spinach leaves, sweet dried cranberries, crunchy glazed pecans, pungent blue cheese all coming alive under a shower of tangy raspberry vinaigrette dressing! I certainly wouldn’t mind living on this until the day I take my last fat gulp of breath.

 

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

2 cups romaine hearts, torn
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup curried sugared pecans (recipe follows)
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
raspberry vinaigrette dressing (recipe follows)

Procedure

Gently combine torn romaine lettuce and baby spinach leaves. Arrange on individual plates, top with crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries and curried pecans, then drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

 

Sugared Curried Pecans
Makes 5 cups
(Will yield more than you need for this salad but keep these curried pecans handy as they make perfect snacking!)

1 pound pecan halves
1 egg white
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsps curry powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp water

Heat oven to 250 F. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Arrange pecans on prepared cookie sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until fragrant for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile,in a large bowl, whisk egg white with water until frothy. Stir in toasted pecans and sprinkle with sugar, curry powder, and salt. Mix well. Spread the pecans in a single layer on the cookie sheet. Bake for one hour or until the pecans are dry, stirring once or twice.

 

Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing (adapted from Food Plus Politics)

1/2 cup safflower, canola, grapeseed or vegetable oil
3 tbsps red wine or white balsamic vinegar
2 tbsps honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lime or lemon juice
salt to taste
freshly-ground pepper to taste

Combine oil, vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard and lemon juice process in a blender. Add the raspberries and blend until smooth. Pass raspberry mixture through a fine sieve strainer into a glass or stainless steel bowl to extract pulp. Whisk in salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste. Allow to sit for about 1 hour to allow flavors to meld. Whisk again to serve. Note: Remember to have all ingredients at room temperature for easier and faster emulsion. Do not use an aluminum material in preparing or storing this dressing as the acids in it will react with aluminum producing a metallic taste.

 

Refreshing Salad Finds

Thai Spicy Shrimp Salad
Yet Another Pear Salad Recipe
Wild Arugula and Blood Orange Salad with Prosciutto
Tomato, Cucumber, and Radish Salad with Yogurt and Tahini Dressing
Taco Salad

 

Vegetable Delights in The CookMobile Archive:

Huevos con Nopales (Eggs with Nopal Cactus)

 

 

 

Kalabasang Ukoy (Squash and Shrimp Fritter)

 

 

 

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