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Blue Waldorf Salad

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Serves 4

Ingredients

Salad

  • 4 Fuji apples, cored, sliced
  • 4 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 cup cayenne-spiced walnuts
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 2 heads Bibb or Panisse lettuce, rinsed and dried
  • 1/4 cup chives, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • blue cheese dressing, as needed

Blue cheese dressing

  • 1/2 pound Old Chatham Sheepherding Ewe’s Bleu Cheese
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup malt vinegar mayonnaise
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • salt to taste

yield: 1 quart

Malt vinegar mayonnaise

  • 3 egg yolks, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons malt vinegar
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 2 teaspoons salt

yield: 1 cup

 

Method

Blue cheese dressing

  1. Pour the buttermilk into a large mixing bowl.
  2. Using gloves, crumble the cheese into the bowl and break it apart with your hands.
  3. Whisk in all of the remaining ingredients and refrigerate until needed.

Malt vinegar mayonnaise

  1. In a large bowl, use a whisk to whip the egg yolks.
  2. Slowly stream in the oil, whisking constantly until the mixture comes together.
  3. Gradually add in other ingredients, whisking thoroughly until combined.
  4. Refrigerate until needed.

The words “Waldorf salad” might conjure images of lettuce, grapes and apples drowned in mayonnaise, but Matt Hutchins, at The Hop in Beacon, demonstrates that the classic salad doesn’t have to be a dish of white, sweet glop. Using Fuji apples, Hutchins combines Old Chatham’s Ewe’s blue cheese with toasted walnuts, raisins (rather than traditional grapes) and a lightly creamy blue cheese dressing. “I like to do fun twists on classic dishes. It keeps the food accessible, but allows for a lot of creativity,” Hutchins says. The walnuts are tossed with cayenne seasoning after toasting, providing a salty crunch and spicy heat to the creamy dressing and blue cheese. The apples unify the salad with a freshness that accompanies the crisp lettuce and firm texture of the walnuts. The occasional raisin adds a pop of concentrated sweetness. Acidity, sweetness, richness, and spice all come together in this surprisingly complex salad.

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week is back this October 28 to November 10!