MESCULUN IN CRANBERRY VINEGRETTE

The tartness of the cranberries with the sweetness of the orange juice and the crunch of the nuts and the flavour of the blue cheese makes this a salad to remember. So delicious and rich, it could be served first, almost as an appetizer, with a crunchy baguette to soak up the vinegrette. This can all be prepared well ahead of time and assembled at the last moment.

Ingredients for four:

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
Mesculun (or mixed salad greens washed and torn into bite size pieces. And don’t under any circumstances use iceberg lettuce which should be banned from the salad department forever. It is tasteless and can bung up your digestive track!) enough for four.
1/4 cup toasted pecans or walnuts or pinenuts
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese.

Procedure:

Vinegrette: Simmer the dried cranberries in the orange juice for 1/2 hour, until berries are soft and most of juice has evaporated. Then add the oil and vinegar, then salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Just before serving. Toss the mesulun with the vinegrette and sprinkle with nuts and blue cheese.