This salad is summer in a bowl.
This is my raspberry/stilton salad converted to blueberry season. These are fresh-picked blueberries, local maple syrup, nuts from a small business a couple towns over, and whatever greens I can get my hands on.
Blueberry and Stilton Salad with Candied Walnuts
INGREDIENTS
- chopped spinach, romaine, or salad mix
- walnuts (or pecans)
- mushrooms
- Stilton or any other bleu cheese
- blueberries
- onion
- maple syrup (or brown sugar and a bit of butter)
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- garlic
DIRECTIONS
- Chop and assemble your salad,adding all the veggies, some blueberries, and crumbled cheese.
- Candy the walnuts by roasting them in a pan with a little maple (or: butter and a bit of brown sugar). Toast until slightly brown but be careful–they’ll go from perfect to burned quickly.
- Add the nuts to the salad.
- Make the dressing: olive oil, a small clove of garlic, a small handful of blueberries, a drizzle of maple, and apple cider vinegar. I gave some rough measurements above, but you can make more or less of this–this does not store well. It gels up. Make what you need in a bullet blender.
- Dress the salad and eat!
VARIATIONS:
- Swap out bleu cheeses, use pecans, or go with the original version of this–raspberries. Strawberries would probably work, too, and I haven’t yet tried peaches.
GLUTEN FREE:Â Yes.
VEGETARIAN: Yes.
VEGAN:Â No. The Stilton really makes this salad. I’ve never seen a vegan substitute for this cheese, but you could just use the concept without the bleu cheese.
KETO:Â Â Yes.
COOK AHEAD: Â Yes. You can make a big batch of the salad, but I suggest making the dressing fresh. It gels up.
COST: $$. I have maple on hand–this is usually pricy but I buy it by the gallon once a year. Nuts and Stilton can be expensive. I get my nuts in bulk at the Virginia Spanish Peanut Company-I pick them up, but they ship. And, you’ll go broke getting the Stilton if you don’t do it wisely. Trader Joes has a great Stilton that’s priced well.
