Cheddar, Apple & Walnut Salad

 

Last year I purchased a cookbook by Nicky Corbishley of Kitchen Sanctuary, entitled Seriously Good Salads.  Nicky is a British cook/blogger. I love her recipes and I love her books.  I have all of them.  Her recipes are simple, straight forward and very easy to do.

This tasty salad recipe really appealed to me.  It seemed like a delicious combination of fresh greens, crisp sweet apple, toasty walnuts and sharp cheddar cheese. Add to that a really tasty  and rich creamy curry yogurt and lime dressing and you have a beautiful combination indeed!

 

 

Apples and cheddar cheese are perfect flavor partners, and they work very well together in this simple salad.  This whole salad was a beautiful combination of colors, textures and flavors.

Every bite brought the pleasure of the moreishly toothsome sharp cheese, and sweet crisp apple.  The walnuts, toasted of course, added another layer of texture and flavor.  Don't get me started on the dried sour cherries.  I could eat them by the handful and there are just enough of them in this delicious salad to add a bit of sharp sweetness.

The real star is that dressing!  (As it is with any salad!)  It is rich and creamy with just enough curry flavor, which works very well with the fruit and the cheese.  The use of lime juice along with some honey adds a really lovely sharp sweet and sour tang.  All in all this was one very tasty salad. I downsized it to make two generous servings.  The perfect lunch!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHEDDAR, APPLE & WALNUT SALAD

Just a few simple fresh ingredients.  This is truly delicious. Simple ingredients, put together in a really tasty way. Use quality ingredients. They will speak for themselves. Quantities are given for two servings. 

For the Salad:

• 1 cups (60g) packed mixed baby salad greens
• 3 1/2 ounces (147g) sharp cheddar cheese crumbled
• 1 sweet eating apple (I used a Honey Crisp)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (32g) roughly chopped toasted walnuts
• 2 TBS dried sour cherries
• 4 spring onions, trimmed washed and thinly sliced

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup (60g) Greek yogurt
• 2 TBS (28g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1 TBS finely chopped spring onions
• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• the juice of 1/2 fresh lime (about 1 TBS)
• 1 tsp medium curry powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 2 tsp runny honey

 

They sell some very nice mixed baby greens in the grocery stores these days.  Gone are the days of us having the choice of iceberg lettuce, iceberg lettuce and, iceberg lettuce.  I used an organic blend, pre-washed.

I used a good British sharp cheddar.  A good cheddar which is well aged will crumble very easily in your hands.  I think crumbling the cheese adds interest and texture.

Toasting your walnuts adds a lot of flavor to them. I toast them by the bagful and then keep them in an airtight container the freezer to use in recipes such as this one. Its very easily done.

The original recipe called for dried cranberries, but I had some dried sour cherries and decided to use them with excellent results.

Any good sweet eating apple will work well in this salad. I like the Honey Crisp apples, they are the perfect blend of sweet, crisp with just a tiny hint of sour.

I used PC Brand Thick Greek full fat yogurt, and Kewpie Mayo.  The original recipe called for minced chives. I didn't have chives, so finely chopped spring onions in their place. This worked well.

This does make more dressing than you need, but it will keep well for a few days, covered in the refrigerator. It would be good on grilled chicken or fish, or even as a tasty dressing for a potato salad.

 

HOW TO MAKE CHEDDAR, APPLE & WALNUT SALAD

This is not a hard salad to make at all. You can make the dressing well ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator, ready to drizzle on your finished salad. There is extra dressing as well. It would be great on fish or chicken, or even baked potatoes!  It would also make a great potato salad dressing.

Make the dressing by whisking all of the ingredients together to combine. Set aside to allow the flavors to meld while you put together the salad. 

This can be made ahead of time. It will make more than you need, but will keep a few days in the refrigerator and is good on any salad.

 

Divide the salad greens between two salad bowls.

Core the apple and cut in half, cut each half into thin strips. Toss together with the lemon juice to help prevent it from browning.

 

Sprinkle the apple over top of the salad greens dividing it equally amongst the two bowls.

Top each bowl with an equal amount of the crumbled cheese, toasted walnuts and spring onions.

Drizzle with the salad dressing and serve immediately. Pass the remaining dressing at the table. 

  

This was quite simply a lovely salad and made for a really great light lunch on one of the hottest days so far this summer!   The crunch and sweet/tart of the fresh apples went perfectly with the sour cherries and toasted walnuts.  Also the cheese. Apples and cheese are perfect partners.

The star really is the dressing. A creamy, flavor-filled curried yogurt and lime dressing.  This went perfectly with everything and I can see it being a dressing that would be equally good on any type of salad, or also as a drizzle over grilled fish or chicken.

  

We love salads in this house. I would quite happily have a salad every day if I could!  Here are a few more favorites!

SWEET & CRUNCHY CORN CHIP SALAD -   This salad is quite different than a lot of the corn chip salads out there. There is no ground beef, or corn, or beans. Instead it is the perfect combination of salty, smoky, sweet, and crunchy with a lovely creamy sweet and tangy poppyseed dressing.    I love poppyseed dressings. 

POTATO, EGG & GREEN BEAN SALAD -  A tad bit different. Fork tender new potatoes, crispy tender fresh green beans, semi hard boiled eggs,  just in between hard and soft, so that some of the yolk is just a bit coddled. This mixes in with the vinaigrette when you are tossing it all together, creating an almost creaminess. A fresh, flavorful potato salad with plenty of color, texture and a fabulously light and tasty Dijon Herb Vinaigrette dressing.

Yield: 2 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Cheddar, Apple & Walnut Salad

Prep time: 20 MinTotal time: 20 Min

A simple and delicious salad filled with a nice combo of baby salad greens, sweet apple, sour cherries, walnuts, cheddar and spring onions with a lush curried yogurt and lime dressing! You could easily add some diced chicken to introduce additional protein and make it heartier. Diced cooked bacon would also be nice.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 1 cups (60g) packed mixed baby salad greens
• 3 1/2 ounces (147g) sharp cheddar cheese crumbled
• 1 sweet eating apple (I used a Honey Crisp)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (32g) roughly chopped toasted walnuts
• 2 TBS dried sour cherries
• 4 spring onions, trimmed washed and thinly sliced

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup (60g) Greek yogurt
• 2 TBS (28g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1 TBS finely chopped spring onions
• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• the juice of 1/2 fresh lime
• 1 tsp medium curry powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 2 tsp runny honey

Instructions

1. Make the dressing by whisking all of the ingredients together to combine. Set aside to allow the flavors to meld while you put together the salad. (This can be made ahead of time. It will make more than you need, but will keep a few days in the refrigerator and is good on any salad.)
2. Divide the salad greens between two salad bowls.
3. Core the apple and cut in half, cut each half into thin strips. Toss together with the lemon juice to help prevent it from browning.
4. Sprinkle the apple over top of the salad greens dividing it equally amongst the two bowls.
5. Top each bowl with an equal amount of the crumbled cheese, toasted walnuts and spring onions.
6. Drizzle with the salad dressing and serve immediately.

All rights reserved The English Kitchen

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #TheEnglishKitchen

 

This content, written and photography, is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.  

  

Thanks for visiting! Do come again!! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right hand side of the screen.