Tomato Salad with Blue Cheese and Candied Walnuts with Greens
Candied walnuts add a special touch for your next celebration.
Ingredients
Candied Walnuts:
- 1 cup walnut halves/pieces (or substitute pecans)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (not coarse sugar)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Tomato Salad:
- 1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons oil, preferably olive Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 packages grape or cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles (or substitute mozzarella)
- 1/8 cup fresh parsley
- 1/8 cup fresh mint
Directions
For Candied Walnuts: Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add walnuts, sugar and butter. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently with a heat-proof non-plastic spatula so the mixture doesn’t burn, especially toward the end. When the sugar mixture starts melting, stir constantly until all sugar is melted and nuts are coated. Transfer immediately onto a sheet of parchment paper and separate the nuts right away. Using two spatulas will make this task faster.
For Tomato Salad: Rinse, peel and thinly slice the onion. In a medium bowl, cover onion with ice water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until flavor is mellowed, about 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry and set aside. In a separate large bowl, whisk vinegar, honey and mustard until combined. Whisking constantly, slowly add oil until combined; season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, gently stirring to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for 5 minutes. Add feta, herbs and onion to salad and gently toss to combine.
Serve immediately.
