Blueberry Salad
Designer greens, candied walnuts, fresh blueberries and goat cheese-blueberry jam "croutons"
Equipment
- 1 pastry brush
Ingredients
Blueberry Vinaigrette
- ½ c. blueberry (or raspberry) vinegar
- ½ c. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 t. prepared mustard
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. black pepper
- ¼ t. sugar
- 2-3 T. chopped fresh parsley
Candied walnuts
- 1 large egg white
- 1 T. water
- 2 t. vanilla
- ¼ t. salt
- ⅔ c. sugar
- 1 lb. walnut halves
Blueberry jam-goat cheese croutons
- ½ lb. frozen phyllo dough
- 1 10.5 oz plain goat cheese
- 1 c. blueberry jam
- ½-1 c. unsalted butter, melted
Salad
- 8 oz. fresh, washed designer greens (or arugula)
- 2-3 c. fresh, washed, dried (with a paper towel) blueberries
Instructions
Blueberry Vinaigrette
- Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
- Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Cover dressing and chill until ready to use.
- Allow to come to room temperature before using, and whisk again.
- Use only what you need - you may have extra.
Candied walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a large bowl, whisk egg white, water, vanilla, and salt.
- Add walnut halves and stir until all the walnuts are coated with egg white mixture.
- Add sugar to walnuts and stir until the walnuts are also coated with sugar.
- Line a large baking pan with foil and spread coated walnuts on the pan.
- Bake the walnuts for about 45 mins, stirring every 10 mins. until walnuts are lightly browned.
- Allow walnuts to cool, then break apart, and store in a covered container
Blueberry jam-goat cheese croutons
- Defrost frozen phyllo dough overnight in refreigerator.
- Work with 1 sheet of phyllo at a time; cover the remaining phyllo with wax paper and a slightly damp paper towel on top of the wax paper.
- Orient the sheet so it is "landscape" on a cutting board (or your work surface). Cut the sheet with a very sharp knife so that you have 3 pieces of phyllo, each measuring about 4-5" x 9".
- Gently brush each sheet with melted butter.
- Near the edge closeset to you, center a small "finger" of goat cheese (about 2-3 t.) and a small dollop of jam (about 1-2 t.) on the phyllo piece.
- Gently roll the phyllo over the goat cheese-jam, like a little log.
- Carefully fold the sides of the phyllo piece over the finger of goat cheese-jam, and continue rolling - like a little burrito.
- Seal the outer edge of phyllo with a very small amount of melted butter and place the crouton-burrito on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat this rolling process about 53 more times, for a possible total of 54 croutons.
- The croutons can be frozen at this point; freeze them initially on the baking sheet about 2 hours until very hard, then carefully pack in a gallon-size ziploc freezer bag and return to the freezer until you need them. To bake them from the freezer, do not defrost them but bake them frozen, in a 350° F oven for 20-30 mins.
- To bake croutons as soon as they are rolled, bake them in a preheated 350° F oven for about 10 mins, or until glden brown.
Salad Assembly
- Place designer greens in a large bowl. Add blueberries and enough blueberry vinaigrette to just moisten the greens; stir gently.
- Then add candied walnuts and mix them in gently also.
- Finally, place freshly baked croutons around the edge of the salad bowl and serve immediately.
