Hearts Of Romaine Salad With Apples Cheese And Hazelnuts Recipes

Steps:

• Whisk first 8 ingredients in small bowl for dressing. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate. Rewhisk before using.)
• Place sliced onion in medium bowl. Cover with cold water; let stand 30 minutes. Drain well. Place 1/3 cup dressing in another medium bowl. Add apples; toss to coat.
• Trim off tips of romaine halves, leaving 5-inch lengths. Cut each romaine half lengthwise into 3 wedges. Fan wedges on large platter. Top with red onion slices. Drizzle salad with dressing, then sprinkle with apples and pecans.

Steps:

• Vinaigrette: In a container, whisk together the vinegars, sugar, sweet mustard, salt and vanilla. Whisk in the oil. Makes a generous 1 cup of vinaigrette.
• Salad: Arrange the romaine on individual salad plates.
• To prepare the peeled and cored apples, cut each half into 1/4-inch thick slices, then cut each slice into thirds.
• Place the apples in a small bowl and toss with enough of the vinaigrette to coat the pieces. You can prepare the apple mixture up to an hour ahead. Important: If you coat the apples with the dressing any longer than that, they will absorb too much of the vinaigrette, which overwhelms the apple flavor.
• Divide the apple mixture among the salads. Top each serving with a portion of the cheese and then a portion of the hazelnuts.
• Drizzle an extra bit of the vinaigrette over the greens and around the edges of the salad. Serve.
• Alternatively: Instead of hearts of Romaine lettuce, consider a mixture of baby spinach, hearts of Romaine and/or other mixed young greens. You could also substitute feta or white cheddar, aged gouda, etc. for the blue cheese.
• Another serving option would be to assemble the entire salad on a large platter instead of individual salad plates.

Steps:

• Mix together dressing ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine,Dressing can be made a day ahead of time if needed.
• In a seperate bowl, mix all salad ingredients and then toss with dressing.