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Mixed Greens Salad with Blue Cheese, Pecans, & Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Invite the flavors of summer to your plate with this mixed greens salad featuring blue cheese crumbles, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a shallot-forward apple cider vinaigrette.

Ingredients

For the Apple Cider Vinaigrette:

  • 2 shallots (peeled and finely diced)
  • ½ cup of apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cup of good-quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp of Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp of honey
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)

For the Salad:

  • 4 cups of mixed greens (romaine, baby spinach, arugula)
  • 2 cups of mustard greens
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes (halved)
  • ½ cucumber (peeled and sliced)
  • 1 cup of whole pecans (lightly toasted)
  • ½ cup of crumbled blue cheese
  • ½ red onion (thinly sliced)
  • Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions 

  • Start by preparing the vinaigrette.
  • In a small bowl, combine the diced shallots with the apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, red pepper flakes, Kosher salt, and freshly-ground pepper.
  • Whisk until the ingredients are well incorporated.
  • Gradually add the olive oil to the vinegar mixture, whisking continuously to create an emulsion.
  • *The result here should be a mostly emulsified vinaigrette, although note that the ingredients will separate over time.
  • Taste the vinaigrette, and add more Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper, if desired.
  • Wash and pat the salad greens dry with paper towels, or alternatively you can use a salad spinner to remove the excess water.
  • In a large salad bowl, combine the mixed greens, mustard greens, and sliced red onion.
  • Add the halved cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumber, followed by the toasted pecans and crumbled blue cheese.
  • Add a pinch of Kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper, and toss gently to combine.
  • Drizzle the apple cider vinaigrette over the salad.
  • *You don’t need to use all of your vinaigrette here, start with some of it and add more, if desired.
  • Gently toss the salad until all the ingredients are evenly coated with the dressing.
  • Serve immediately, ensuring each portion has a good mix of greens, vegetables, pecans, and blue cheese crumbles.

Notes

You can save any extra apple cider vinaigrette in your fridge for use the following day. Remove the leftover vinaigrette from the fridge roughly an hour before you plan to use it, as it takes some time for the olive oil to return to a more liquid, room-temperature consistency after it has been refrigerated.