A seasonal fall salad featuring Cortland apples, which resist browning, fennel, bleu cheese and toasted pecans in a tarragon vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Dressing
2 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 TB chopped tarragon
2 TB minced shallot
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
5 TB extra-virgin olive oil
Salad
3 bulbs fennel
4 Cortland apples
4 oz. bleu cheese, such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort
1½ cups pecan halves
Instructions
To make the tarragon vinaigrette, whisk together the lemon juice, tarragon, shallot, mustard and honey in a small bowl. While whisking, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream. Continue whisking until combined. Set aside.
Trim the stalks off the fennel bulbs, cut off the bottoms and remove the outer layers. Cut the fennel bulbs in half lengthwise and cut out the woody cores. Slice the halves horizontally into thin slices and place in a large bowl.
Toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about five minutes. Set aside. (Can be done in advance up to this point.)
Quarter and slice the apples thinly. Add them to the bowl with the fennel.
Crumble the bleu cheese on top of the apple and fennel and add the toasted pecans.
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper after tasting - the bleu cheese is quite salty and you do not want to overdo it.
Serve immediately.
Recipe by West of the Loop at https://www.westoftheloop.com/2014/11/20/cortland-apple-fennel-bleu-cheese-salad-thanksgiving/