Favorite-Flavors Salad

By MaryGladys

Ingredients

• Walnuts
• 1 cup walnut pieces
• Potato
• 1 baking potato (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• Dressing
• 1/2 lb Roquefort cheese or other blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup wine vinegar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup mild oil, such as canola
• Salad
• 1 head romaine lettuce (about 1-1/4 pounds), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (about 3 quarts)
• 2 bunches watercress (about 10 ounces in all), tough stems removed, leaves chopped (about 1 quart)
• 1 cup drained cocktail onions
• 1 avocado, preferably Hass, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 pear, peeled, cored, and sliced

Details

Servings 1

Preparation

Step 1

Walnuts

In a small frying pan, toast the nuts over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Or toast them in a 350 degrees F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

Potato

Put the potato in a medium pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Dressing

Meanwhile, in a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine one third of the blue cheese with the vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly and then gradually whisk in the oil. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the dressing.

Salad

Add the romaine to the rest of the dressing and toss. Transfer to a platter or salad bowl.Toss the watercress with the reserved dressing. Arrange the remaining blue cheese, the watercress, walnuts, potato, onions, avocado, and pear slices on top of the lettuce.