Nectarine And Blue Cheese Salad With Plum Vinaigre Food

GRILLED NECTARINE SALAD

Steps:

• Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
• Drizzle the nectarine halves with a little olive oil. Grill cut-side down for 2 to 3 minutes, turning midway to achieve lovely grill marks. Set aside.
• In a bowl, whisk together the honey, Dijon and vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Add some salt and pepper and mix.
• Toast the slivered almonds in a small skillet over medium-low heat until just turning golden brown.
• In a large bowl, toss the salad greens with enough of the dressing to lightly coat. (You won't use all of the dressing; save to have on another salad tomorrow!) Toss in the warm toasted almonds.
• Divide the salad among 4 plates. Place a nectarine half on each serving. Drizzle the nectarines with a little more dressing. With a fork, cut the blue cheese into chunks and distribute among the plates.

BROILED NECTARINES WITH BLUE CHEESE AND BALSAMIC REDUCTION

Steps:

• Simmer balsamic vinegar in a saucepan over low heat until reduced by half and thickened to a glaze, about 10 minutes. Let cool, about 5 minutes.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Arrange nectarine halves cut-side up on a baking sheet; season with black pepper.
• Broil nectarines in the preheated oven until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add blue cheese; continue broiling until blue cheese starts to melt, 1 to 2 minutes more.
• Drizzle balsamic glaze over nectarines.

NECTARINE ARUGULA SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in oil until blended. Drizzle over salad; toss to coat.

NECTARINE AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD WITH PLUM VINAIGRE

Steps:

• 1. Bring plums and 3/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally and mashing the plums with the back of a spoon, until plums have completely broken down, about 15 minutes.
• 2. Pour plum mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much puree as possible; discard solids in sieve. Let puree cool.
• 3. Add oil, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons water to the puree; whisk to blend. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Dressing can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill)
• 4. Divide the greens among plates. Scatter nectarines, cheese, and almonds over, dividing equally, and drizzle some of the dressing over. Season with salt and pepper.

NECTARINE AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD WITH PLUM VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Bring plums and 3/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally and mashing plums with the back of a spoon, until plums have completely broken down, about 15 minutes.
• Pour plum mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much purée as possible; discard solids in sieve. Let purée cool.
• Add oil, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons water to purée; whisk to blend. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Dressing can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill.
• Divide greens among plates. Scatter nectarines, cheese, and almonds over, dividing equally, and drizzle some of dressing over. Season with salt and pepper.