Orange and Roquefort Salad

Welcome back from the weekend. I am still recovering from a whirlwind trip to Sonoma with the Michaels Makers team. I am anxious to share all that I learned and recap the trip soon. In the meantime, we managed to pull off a yummy and healthy dinner this past weekend after returning home from the trip. My husband fired up the BBQ to grill chicken, pineapple and vegetables. I turned to my trusted Ina Garten and adapted her Endive, orange and roquefort salad for our family.

The original recipe calls for a good amount of endive. My family prefers spinach so I used only a handful of endive and added in more spinach alongside the arugula. It turned out great that way.

INGREDIENTS

for the vinaigrette

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup good olive oil

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the salad

2 heads Belgian endive (I used less and added spinach)

1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted (toast in a dry sautee pan for 5 mins)

1/4 pound French Roquefort cheese, 1/2 inch-diced

1 sweet apple, medium diced skin on

4 ounces baby arugula

1 orange

PREPARATION

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/3 teaspoon pepper. Set aside. TIP: this can be refrigerated until you are ready to assemble the salad.

Place endive (and spinach if you choose to use) in a large bowl. Drizzle the leaves with the vinaigrette and add the walnuts, Roquefort, and apple. Add the arugula and toss. Move to a flat serving dish and zest orange on top.  Peel the orange and cut into sections between the membranes.  Toss on the salad removing any white pith.  Sprinkle with salt and serve.

served with grilled chicken and pineapple skewers

TIP: Transferring a salad to a shallow serving bowl or flat platter allows for all of the ingredients to be seen. Sometimes things fall to the bottom of  a deep salad bowl. I also like to use tongs to serve salad as you can hold the plate in one hand and serve yourself with the other. Good tip for when you are entertaining as well.

*recipe is from the talented Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof

Looking for more scrumptious eats?

Asparagus Summer Salad

Easy Chicken Tacos

White Cheddar & Potato Gratin

Hot Sichuan Green Beans

Cilantro Lime Tacos

Meat and Cheese Platter {with how to video}

Summer Shrimp Salad

Skinny Dip

You can always find my recipes under “Yummy” from the Gatherings tab at the top of the blog. Enjoy your day!