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Makes
a decent sized bowl
Author Notes
You don’t have to ask me twice if I’d like a piece of good, aged cheddar. I’ll nibble on it any day, at any time, in any place. I was eating the crumbs of a hunk of Montgomery’s Cheddar (my husband brought it back for me as a gift for letting him go to London solo), with some apples and roasted, buttered hazelnuts when I first read about the Food52 apple salad challenge. Add a complementary vinaigrette and some soft, Bibb lettuce, and presto-chango, it’s a salad. - cheese1227 —cheese1227
Test Kitchen Notes
Simple to make and delicious, this apple, hazelnut and cheddar cheese salad is a lovely combination of textures and flavors. Sweet honey mustard dressing and tender Bibb lettuce create a nice base for the tart granny smith apples and sharp cheddar. The dried figs were a pleasant chewy surprise. A little extra sprinkle of sea salt heightened all the flavors. —jvcooks
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Ingredients
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½ cup raw hazelnuts, skins removed
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1 Tablespoon butter
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good sea salt
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1 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
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1
teaspoon dijon mustard
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2 teaspoons honey (I used Savannah Bee Co.’s Cheese Honey)
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3 Tablespoons hazelnut oil
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Freshly ground pepper
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1 granny smith apple, sliced as thin as possible
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3 cups of Boston bibb lettuce, washed, dried and torn into pieces
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2
dried calymyrna figs, roughly chopped
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2 ounces of a really good, aged cheddar (I used Montegomery’s Cheddar), one that crumbles well.
Directions
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Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
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Melt butter and combine it with the hazelnuts and a couple pinches of sea salt.
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Toast in the oven until they are nicely browned. This happens quickly. Cool completely. Put them in a plastic bag and give them a whack with a meat mallet so they are broken apart a bit.
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In the bottom of a large bowl, combine vinegar, dry mustard, and honey. Whisk in the oil. Add pepper to taste.
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Add the apples and lettuce to the vinaigrette and toss to coat completely.
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Sprinkle in the hazelnuts and figs and crumble the cheddar on top and serve.
I am an excellent eater (I have been all my life). I’m a pretty good cook (Ask my kids!). And my passable writing improves with alcohol (whether it's the writer or the reader that needs to drink varies by sentence.). I just published my first cookbook, Green Plate Special, which focuses on delicious recipes that help every day cooks eat more sustainably.
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