Watercress And Gorgonzola Salad With Spiced Walnuts Recipes

WATERCRESS SALAD WITH GRILLED ONIONS, PEPPERS AND SPICY CANDIED WALNUTS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add cayenne and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Add walnuts and stir until coated. Continue stirring until walnuts are toasted. Using a slotted spoon, transfer walnuts to foil-lined sheet and cool.
• Whisk walnut oil, vinegar and 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro in a medium bowl until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Prepare barbecue (medium high heat). Combine 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, onion wedges and pepper strips in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill vegetables until tender and blackened in spots. Transfer to large bowl. Add watercress. Toss with dressing. Arrange on platter. Garnish with candied walnuts.

GRANDMA'S WATERCRESS SALAD ALL DRESSED UP

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, toss watercress, gorgonzola, onion, nuts and vinaigrette. Season and decoratively place in the center of a chilled plate (be sure to divide all ingredients evenly amongst 4 plates). Garnish salad with slices of prosciutto, figs and a drizzle of fig balsamic vinegar.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium saute pan over medium heat, melt butter and then add nuts. Toss nuts in pan until well coated with butter, then add honey and toss some more until nuts are well coated. Season with salt, pepper and a touch of cayenne pepper. Put nuts in oven for about 5 to 7 minutes, tossing regularly so they toast evenly. Cool. Store in airtight container until needed.
• Place all ingredients in blender except oil. Process until smooth and then slowly drizzle in oil. Adjust seasoning, as desired.

WATERCRESS, ROCKET, SWEET PEAR, WALNUT AND PARMESAN SALAD

Steps:

• What a pukka combination, simple and classy. Don't try to make this when you feel like it, make it when you can buy perfect pears, otherwise it will taste naff. For 1 person I normally use around 1/2 a pear, 2 big handfuls of watercress and 2 big handfuls of rocket. If the pear skins are nice I just give them a wash, if not I remove them with a peeler. Then cut them in 1/2 and deseed. It doesn't really matter how you cut them up. Sometimes in big rough chunks, maybe sliced up or even grated. Then place into a bowl with the watercress and rocket. The pepperiness of the leaves works so well with the sweetness of the pear. Drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil just to coat, a small squeeze of lemon juice (because the pear juice is slightly acidic but very tasty), and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss all this together and serve. Shave over Parmesan or pecornio, crumble your nuts over and tuck in. I love this salad with roasted meat or as a starter on its own.

SWEET PEAR AND GORGONZOLA SALAD WITH ROCKET, WATERCRESS, WALNUTS, AND ORANGE FLOWER HONEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Slice the pears in half lengthwise. Rub each half with a pinch of salt. Put parchment paper on a tray just large enough to hold the pears, and spread the sugar on the paper. There should be a 1/8-inch layer. Put the pear halves cut side down on the sugar and bake for 1 hour. When the pears are cool enough to handle, remove the cores and slice them crosswise into 1/8-inch sections.
• Put the lemon juice in a salad bowl with salt and pepper and mix to dissolve the salt, then whisk in the oil. Arrange the slices of pear 1 pear per plate, in 1 layer in the center of the plate, leaving a 3-inch gap in the center for the watercress and the rocket. Scatter the cheese and then the walnuts over the pears, and then drizzle the honey on top of the walnuts and cheese.
• Put the watercress, rocket, and basil in the salad bowl and toss together. Then place the salad in the center of the pears.
• Garnish with the flowers.

WATERCRESS, WALNUT, AND ROQUEFORT SALAD

Steps:

• Make caramelized walnuts:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In baking pan toast nuts in oven until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. In a small bowl stir together caramelized-walnuts ingredients and in a small nonstick skillet cook over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar caramelizes and coats nuts. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool. Break walnuts apart.
• Make dressing:
• Mince and mash garlic to a paste with salt and in a bowl whisk with mustard and lemon juice. Add oils in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified and whisk in tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.
• Trim endive and cut into julienne strips. Discard coarse stems from watercress and toss with endive and dressing. Top salad with Roquefort and walnuts.

WATERCRESS, PEAR AND GORGONZOLA SALAD

Steps:

• Combine the onion, mustard, vinegar, honey, lemon juice and grapeseed oil in a food processor or blender. Purée until onion is very fine. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in olive oil.
• Rinse and dry the watercress. In a large bowl, season watercress with salt and pepper and toss with the dressing. Arrange cheese and fruit on four salad plates and top with watercress.