This roasted grape salad with blue cheese is delish!
So, who is ready for spring? OMG, I am ever SO ready! The snow is finally starting to melt here in MN, and by this time of year, I start to get really antsy for winter to be done. In MN, you never know just when that is going to happen. Although the first day of spring is officially next week, we have been known to have snow into May. Snow in December, cool. Snow in May, not cool, not cool at all.
Ah, Spring…Please come soon. I am eagerly awaiting your arrival.
Spring has to be one of my favorite seasons of the year. I start to anticipate spending time outdoors, but the one thing that excites me the most is the opening of farmers markets. I tend to geek out about them. I get so inspired by all of the fresh vegetables and herbs and can’t wait to get home and start developing recipes around what I find. I am not kidding when I say this, if I had a choice between going to a farmers market and Nordstrom’s, the farmers market would win hands down.
I love to discover new varieties of lettuce that I have not seen before. I am a salad girl at heart. I really love them for dinner, especially ones that can serve as a complete meal. Even though I throughly enjoy cooking, I love easy, delicious, meals and when they don’t dirty a lot of dishes..bonus! I hate the clean up. This salad delivers on all of the above.
My favorite part of the recipe by far, are the roasted grapes. I remember the first time I had roasted grapes in a salad at a local restaurant and I was blown away. I could not believe that I went my entire life without even hearing of such a thing. Trust me, they are amazing! They’re not just great on salads, but flatbread and bruschetta too. I like to roast extra to have on hand for other recipes or even to snack on. I think they would also pair beautifully with a cheese platter if your entertaining.
The citrus vinaigrette is really easy to make and will stay good in your fridge for at least a week. It pairs up nicely with a variety of salads so don’t just limit it to this one.
The overall salad recipe has a lot of flexibility for mixing and matching ingredients. Here are some ideas:
- Swap out the pecans for walnuts
- Swap out the blue cheese for feta
- Swap out the red leaf lettuce for romaine
- Swap out the apple for pear
Whatever you do, do not swap out the grapes. They are a must have!!
I love giving you a base recipe that you can flex with. Please feel free to explore, it’s what makes cooking so fun.
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This salad with roasted grapes, pecans and blue cheese crumbles takes left over chicken to a new level. Super easy to make and hearty enough for a meal.
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 2/3 C. Pecans (toasted)
- 1 Apple (sliced or chopped)
- 1/3 C. Blue Cheese Crumbles
- 1 Head of Red Leaf Lettuce
- 3 Slices of Cooked Bacon (crumbled)
- 1 C. of Red Grapes
- 1 T. Fresh Rosemary (minced)
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Left over Chicken
Dressing Ingredients:
- 3/4 C. Olive Oil
- 1/4 C. White Wine Vinegar
- 1 T. Dijon Mustard
- 1 t. Honey
- Juice of 1/2 Orange
- 1 T. Fresh Parsley (minced)
- 1 Shallot
- 1/2 t. Salt
- Fresh Cracked Pepper
Instructions
Salad Instructions:
- Place grapes on a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Roast at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. Grapes should be soft. Set aside to cool.
- Roughly chop lettuce and add to bowl with remaining ingredients. Add cooled grapes and toss with citrus vinaigrette and some fresh cracked pepper.
Dressing Instructions:
- Place all dressing ingredients in blender except olive oil. Slowly drizzle in oil while blender is running until emulsified (fancy word for two liquids completely blended together)
Notes
The grapes cook at a high temperature and it may get a little smokey. You can always lower the temperature to 425 degrees and cook for an extra 5-10 minutes.
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