Recipe courtesy of Wolfgang Puck
Spinach and Blue Cheese Salad with Sliced Apples and Spiced Caramelized Pecans
- Yield: 4 servings
- Total: 45 min
- Prep: 35 min
- Cook: 10 min
Ingredients
1 apple, chilled
1 small lemon, juiced
8 ounces spinach, washed, thoroughly dried, and stemmed
1 small head (about 3 ounces) radicchio, cut into chiffonade
5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup Spago House Dressing, recipe follows
1 1/2 cups Spiced Caramelized Pecans, recipe follows
Spago House Salad Dressing:
2 large shallots, minced (1 heaping tablespoon)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons zinfandel vinegar
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Spiced Caramelized Pecans:
3 cups peanut oil
2 cups pecan halves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
Directions
- Cut the apple into quarters, remove the stem and the seeds, and cut into very thin slices. Sprinkle lemon juice over the slices and set aside.
- When ready to serve, in a salad bowl, combine the apple, spinach, radicchio, and blue cheese. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss with the dressing. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- To serve, divide the salad among 4 plates and sprinkle the pecans around each salad.
Spago House Salad Dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the shallots and the mustard. Whisk in the vinegars, and then the olive and vegetable oils. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.
- Yield: 1 1/4 cups
- Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, "Adventures in the Kitchen", Random House, 1991
Spiced Caramelized Pecans:
- In a deep-fryer or a deep pot, heat the oil to 350 degrees F. (A deep-frying thermometer can be clipped to the side of the pan so that you can tell when the proper temperature has been reached).
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the pecans and boil for 2 minutes. Drain in a large strainer, shaking off all excess water. Sprinkle the salt and cayenne pepper over the nuts and then coat with the confectioners' sugar, a little at a time, allowing the sugar to melt into the pecans. Toss the nuts by shaking the strainer, adding a little more sugar each time, until all the sugar is used and all the nuts are coated. Do not use hands or a spoon to toss. The nuts should have a glaze of sugar.
- Carefully add the nuts to the heated oil, keeping the oil at 350 degrees F. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon to a baking tray to cool.
- Yield: 2 cups
- Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, "Pizza, Pasta & More!," Random House, 2000