Pick Up That Cookbook! {Fandango Salad with Panera Bread Raspberry Vinaigrette}

Continuing with my plan to pick up a cookbook in my kitchen and try a new recipe every week . . .  

Ron bought The Panera Bread Cookbook for me when I was preparing to do my Bread on Tuesday series. Not only did I learn a lot about bread making in the introductory chapters, I also featured two different recipes from the book in my series: Three-Cheese Bread and Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

This time, however, I went to the "Soups, Salads, and Sides" chapter and chose a salad recipe to try. Good summer food!

FANDANGO SALAD 

with PANERA BREAD RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE

FANDANGO SALAD
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped

3 cups field greens, loosely packed

1 cup romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces, loosely packed

1/4 cup Panera Bread Raspberry Vinaigrette (recipe below)

2 tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese, crumbed

8 - 10 slices Mandarin orange

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Arrange the walnuts in a single layer on a sheet pan. Toast for 5 minutes, toss nts, then toast for an additional 5 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan to cool. 

In a medium mixing bowl, toss field greens, romaine, and vinaigrette until well combined. Place the mixture on a serving plate. Top with the cheese, walnuts, and orange slices and serve.

PANERA BREAD RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE
Ingredients: 

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons raspberry jam

2 teaspoons shallot, minced

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except oil in a medium mixing bowl with a wire whisk. Once ingredients are combined, slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking to form and emulsion. 

When Kati and I made this salad, we took great liberties with the recipe!

First of all, this recipe says that it serves one. But we used one bag of romaine and one bag of a salad blend (I think it was a "spring mix" with green leaf lettuce, red cabbage, shredded carrots) and it seemed like plenty for the four of us. Of course, we were using it as a side dish; if it was the main course, we would have needed more.

Also, I bought fresh Mandarin oranges (clementines) because the recipe called for "slices." I found that I had to slice them before peeling to keep the slices whole. I later found that most online recipes for Fandango Salad use canned Mandarin oranges. Those would be fine, although I did like the presentation with the sliced Mandarins. 

I did not measure the Gorgonzola. I just covered the salad with what I thought looked proportionate, so I probably used more than the recipe called for. 

Kati chopped more than 2 teaspoons of walnuts (maybe 3?), but I think the salad could have used a bit more. 

Fandango Salad was so good! Fresh greens with a little tang, a little sweetness, and a little crunch made for a great summer salad. And we had about half of the yummy dressing left over. Not a problem! I'm sure it will be a good addition to other summer salads.

Coming soon . . . the recipe for this delicious panini that we paired with the salad! (We have already made these twice!)