Escarole Salad With Apples, Walnuts & Pecorino Romano Cheese

Salads are great weather you are looking for an on the go meal or a sit down lunch or dinner. If your taking a salad with you on the go, just do not dress it, place the dressing in a separate container and dress when ready to eat. For a sit down meal just dress right before serving. Either way salads are a great addition to any meal or as the meal themselves.

Now this isn’t your regular iceberg lettuce salad, which is also good, but not as nutrient dense a escarole. Escarole is a flat leafy green with slight bitter notes that belongs to the chicory family. It has many health benefits. It is high in fiber and several nutrients including copper, folate and vitamins A, C and K.

Escarole can be cooked but my favorite way to eat it is raw in a salad and with the additives of toasted walnuts, apples and cheese this salad eats like a meal. So give it a try. It might become your new favorite green to eat in a salad.

Escarole Salad With Apples Walnuts & Pecorino Romano Cheese

Dressing:

Ingredients:

• 1 Large shallot minced
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 Teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• Salt & Fresh ground pepper.

Instructions:

1. To a small bowl add minced shallot, vinegar, mustard, olive oil, maple syrup and a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk vigorously to combine.

Salad:

Ingredients:

• 1 Head of escarole chopped ( about 5 cups )
• 1 Sweet apple such as Fuji or Honeycrisp thinly sliced
• 1/2 Cup walnut
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 Cup sweetened cranberries
• 3 oz. Pecorino Romano cheese thinly shaved

Instructions:

1. Chop up escarole and place in a salad spinner. Fill with water and let sit for 1 minute. Drain water and spin till dry. Add dried escarole to a large serving bowl.
2. Slice 1 sweet apple into thin slices and place in a separate small bowl. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over apple slices to prevent them from browning and toss to coat. Drain apples and add them to the escarole, along with sweetened cranberries.
3. Place a small frying pan over medium heat. Add walnuts to pan with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and toast until syrup is absorbed. Place walnuts on a sheet of aluminum to cool.
4. Toss cooled walnuts into salad. Drizzle with dressing and toss once again. Top with shaved Pecorino Romano cheese and serve.
5. Enjoy.