Barefoot Contessa’s Cape Cod Chopped Salad

Source: “Back to Basics” from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Thick-Cut Bacon
• 8 ounces Baby Arugula
• 1 large Granny Smith Apple, Peeled And Diced
• ½ cup Toasted Walnut Halves, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup Dried Cranberries
• 6 ounces Bleu Cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
• 3 Good Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Grated Orange Zest
• 2 Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
• 2½ teaspoons Dijon Mustard
• 2 Pure Maple Syrup
• Kosher Salt
• ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ⅔ cups Good Olive Oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and lay the bacon slices on the rack. Roast the bacon for about 20 minutes, until nicely browned. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and bleu cheese.

For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup, 1½ tsp salt, and the pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Chop the bacon in large pieces and add it to the salad. Toss the salad with just enough dressing to moisten. Sprinkle with ½ tsp salt and toss well.

Serve immediately.

Notes

This seemed to be a big recipe for salad dressing and I had a lot left over.