Spiced Caramelized Pecans Spinach and Blue Cheese Salad With Sliced Apples and Spiced Caramelized Pecans

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Ease of preparation: intermediate

1 apple, chilled
1 small lemon, juiced
8 ounces spinach, washed, thoroughly dried and stemmed
1 small head (about 3 ounces) radicchio, cut into chiffonade
5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup Spago House Dressing (recipe follows)
1-1/2 cups Spiced Caramelized Pecans (recipe follows)

Cut the apple into quarters, remove the stem and the seeds and cut into very thin slices. Sprinkle lemon juice over the slices and set aside.

When ready to serve, in a salad bowl, combine the apple, spinach, radicchio and blue cheese. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss with the dressing. Adjust seasoning, to taste.

To serve, divide the salad among 4 plates and sprinkle the pecans around each salad.

Spago House Salad Dressing

Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, Adventures in the Kitchen, Random House, 1991.

2 large shallots, minced (1 heaping tablespoon)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Zinfandel vinegar
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the shallots and the mustard. Whisk in the vinegars, and then the olive and vegetable oils. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.

Yield: 1 1/4 cups