Rif on Ina Garten's Cape Cod Salad
A fantastic salad with Romaine, Gorgonzola, Toasted Pecans, Crisp Apple and a light, slightly sweet and tangy Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Salad Fixings
- 1 head Romaine Or consider swapping for Arugula
- 6 oz Bacon Thick Cut
- 1/3 Cup Pecans Toasted - Or consider Walnuts!
- 6 oz Gorgonzola Cheese Or consider Blue Cheese
- 1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries Or consider pomegranate seeds, or dried cherries etc.
- 1/2 Granny Smith Apple Or consider a pear
Vinaigrette
- 1.5 TBL Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tsp Orange Zest
- 1 TBL Orange Juice Fresh from the Orange !
- 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 TBL Maple Syrup
- 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/8 Tsp Ground Pepper
- 1/8 Tsp Salt
Instructions
- Prepare the salad - by starting with cooking the bacon. You can do it in the oven or in a skillet however you prefer. Either chop the bacon ahead of time, or after it's cooked - whichever is easiest for you. The key is to NOT eat all the bacon and have enough remain for the salad ! I typically place my cooked bacon on a plate with paper towels to soak up some of the grease - and let it cool on the plate. (Another TIP : I typically keep my bacon in the freezer - in a 1 or 2 lb block from Costco - in a freezer zip bag. When I need some crumbled bacon for a recipe I use the biggest, sharpest knife I have and whack (carefully!) a hunk of the bacon off the end of the strips. Thereby having little pieces of bacon already cut - and then I toss the frozen block into the pan to cook. You seperate the individual small pieces off the block as it warms / cooks. Recipes that call for 3-4 strips of bacon are readily accommodated when you keep bacon this way.)
- Toast your Pecans - I put my pecans into the oven - using my countertop oven for about 5 minutes at 350. You can also toast the nuts in a hot pan - NO OIL - watching very carefully. You want the nuts to warm and toast and release some of their oils and smell yummy.
- Wash and tear or chop the lettuce and place into a big bowl. I prefer to chop lettuce as it's quicker, but generally I'll only do that when I'm fairly confident the entire salad will be eaten when served. If I am making a double, or expect left-overs, I prefer to tear the lettuce. I believe lettuce torn browns slower. If you google - some say it makes no difference - so do what you like.
- Toss your gorgonzola over the lettuce. If you bought a wedge, use a knife or better yet, your hands, to crumble pieces of the cheese into the salad bowl. If you bought pre-crumbled - toss it in !
- Add the bacon to the lettuce.
- Add the cranberries to the lettuce (if using).
- Add the pecans to the lettuce.
- Peel and chop the apple and add to the lettuce. I would hold off on peeling and chopping the apple until right before serving or as late as you can - so it doesn't turn brown.
- Place all Vinaigrette ingredients in a jar or container and shake. I used manderine oranges, as that is what I had on hand. Use whatever type of oranges you have on hand, or whichever kind you prefer!
- When ready to serve, toss the salad with the vinaigrette and say wha la !
Notes
Note : I typically will make 2X the vinaigrette so that I have some more on hand for a repeat of the salad later in the week. Food storage advice is that the vinaigrette will safely keep 3-4 days in the fridge. I *might* keep mine a few days longer than that...but that's me. :)
In addition to making more of the vinaigrette, obviously you'll need 2X all the salad ingredients. Consider saving yourself prep time and doubling the pecans and the bacon on the first go round too. Then making the salad later in the week will be very fast.
Nutrition
Serving: 4gCalories: 620kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 17gFat: 54gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 871mgPotassium: 665mgFiber: 5gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 13999IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 293mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!