Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese Viniagrette
Romaine lettuce made its way from the Middle East to Greece and then to Italy and Western Europe, before making it across the Atlantic to North America. Nearly every good Steak House serves some version of a blue cheese and lettuce salad. The perfect pairing is a good quality piece of beef.
Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
The blue cheese is gently mixed with the vinaigrette just before serving and becomes a little creamy. *Use Baby Greens if Romaine is not available.
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 3 TBSP (45 ml) red wine vinegar
- Pepper
- 1/3 (80 ml) cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup (60 gr) crumbled blue cheese
- 1 large head (364 gr) heart of romaine lettuce, trimmed
- 1/4 cup (35 gr) roasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds or fresh shelled walnuts
Instructions
- Toast the pine nuts, in a small pan, on the stove top over medium heat turning and tossing frequently. Don’t leave alone; they burn in a blink. Remove from the pan to cool or they will continue to cook.
- Walnuts and pumpkin seeds also work well in this salad if you like them, and we don’t toast them.
- Mix vinegar and 1/3 cup olive oil. Gently stir in blue cheese.
- Trim the stem of the lettuce but leave it intact. Cut romaine length wise, and then again cut length wise into quarters. Place 2 quarters on each plate. Drizzle vinaigrette and sprinkle each plate with 2 TBSP pine nuts. This recipe calls for a larger heart of romaine, use two smaller ones if that’s what you have.
- *If using Baby Greens drizzle the dressing over top and do not mix. The dressing will incorporate, and the blue cheese will stay at the top.
Notes
Vinaigrettes are sometimes very difficult to pair with a wine, but not this salad. It is rich, creamy and the blue cheese screams for a full-bodied red wine as does the beef.
We’ve paired:
- Carmen Gran Reserva Syrah 2017 was perfect with a bacon wrapped tenderloin and this salad. This Chilean Syrah didn’t disappoint. It’s full bodied and smooth. We love trying new wines from all over!
- Michael David Winery, Freakshow Cabernet Sauvignon is a bold full bodied red wine that paired beautifully with this salad and a rotisserie grilled Standing Rib Roast.