Culinary Guides

Here is a fresh, elegant salad with a good balance of textures: crisp oak leaf lettuce, pungent Cabrales blue cheese, sweet red grapes, and toasted pine nuts in a sherry vinegar dressing. It comes together quickly and looks impressive, whether as a starter or a light main.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons shallot confit, plus 5 tablespoons of the reserved shallot oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pound red and green oak leaf lettuce (about 16 cups)
• 6 ounces Cabrales cheese, crumbled (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350F (175C). Spread the pine nuts on a metal pie plate and bake about 8 minutes, until lightly toasted, watching so they do not burn. Transfer to a plate to cool.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the sherry vinegar, shallot confit, honey, and kosher salt together. Slowly whisk in the reserved shallot oil until the dressing is emulsified.
3. Wash and thoroughly dry the oak leaf lettuce, tear it into bite-sized pieces, and add it to the bowl.
4. Add the crumbled Cabrales and the halved red grapes. Drizzle the dressing over the top.
5. Toss gently until everything is evenly coated.
6. Season with freshly ground pepper, adding a little more salt only if needed, since the cheese is salty. Scatter the toasted pine nuts over the top and serve right away.

No shallot confit on hand? Cook sliced shallots slowly in olive oil over low heat until soft and golden. A milder blue like Stilton or Danish Blue works if Cabrales is too strong for you.

Grower's tip: A mix of red and green oak leaf gives this salad its color, and both are loose-leaf types that take a little warmth better than crisphead lettuce. Pick the outer leaves and leave the center to keep growing, and harvest young for the most tender leaves.

Grow the greens for this salad at home. A row of red and green oak leaf lettuce and some shallots for the confit will keep you in salads for weeks.