Blue on Bleu Salad with Crispy Prosciutto

Sometimes our customers come up with the best recipes for our products. Case in point, Joan S. from Charlotte, NC sent us this wonderful salad she calls “Blue on Bleu”. We call it simply delicious! We made Joan’s salad in the OT Kitchen and we liked it so much we didn’t change a thing. The combination of four basic ingredients topped with a simple blueberry balsamic vinaigrette was hearty enough to serve as a main course for the entire family. Joan recommends serving it with a warm loaf of crusty bread. “I am going to enjoy this adventure. I love to cook and since retiring have been feeding my neighbors with my experiments. I hope you like it!”

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium hearts of Romaine lettuce
• 8 slices of thinly sliced prosciutto, about 4-5 ounces
• ½ medium red onion, sliced very thin
• 1 cup fresh crumbled Bleu cheese
• 3 tablespoons Olive This! Blueberry Dark Balsamic
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Olive This! Single Varietal EVOO, divided
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Chop the root end off the hearts of Romaine lettuce. Separate the leaves and rinse under cool water. Dry in a salad spinner or with paper towels.

Separate the leaves by size. Split the larger leaves by cutting them lengthwise through the rib.

Cut (or tear) the leaves into 1½” to 2” pieces. Set aside.

Thinly slice ½ of the red onion into slivers and set aside.

Heat the 1 teaspoon of EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, but not yet smoking, cook the prosciutto slices. They cook very quickly so don’t walk away; about a minute per side.

Drain the crisp prosciutto on paper towels. When cool, tear into pieces about 1” square. Set aside.

In the same pan, sauté the red onions until just about translucent, about 1-2 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove from pan and let cool.

While the onions cool, make your vinaigrette. Add the 3 tablespoons of blueberry balsamic to a small bowl. While whisking, drizzle in the 3 tablespoons of EVOO in a thin stream until well combined and thick. Taste your vinaigrette; add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Don’t skip this step, it will need some salt and pepper.

In a large salad bowl, combine the prepared lettuce, prosciutto pieces, cooked red onions and the 1 cup of crumbled bleu cheese. Add the blueberry balsamic vinaigrette and toss well. Add any additional salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve immediately with warm crusty bread.

SERVES 4 AS A MAIN COURSE

Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.