Willamette Valley Salad

I am lucky enough to live in the Willamette Valley.  The Willamette Valley stretches from Portland in the North to Eugene in the South.  The fertile valley is also the home to Oregon’s state nut.  The hazelnut.  Did you know there was a state nut?  Does your state have one?  Well, Oregon has the hazelnut.  Today’s salad gets it’s name – Willamette Valley Salad because it uses delicious hazelnuts.  The hazelnut is the star of this salad so don’t leave it out!

I love hazelnuts and if you haven’t tried them I highly recommend them.  Of course, you could substitute another nut in this salad but then it wouldn’t be Willamette Valley Salad.  In addition to hazelnuts the salad contains avocados and blue cheese.

I found hazlenuts in the bulk section of my local Winco grocery store.  I like them toasted in the salad so I popped them into my oven for about 5-10 minutes until they turned golden brown.

 The dressing for the salad is nice and light and is sugar free!  Just a combo of red wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard and salt and pepper.

Totally love this salad.  I used romaine lettuce but it would be great with spinach too.  I love the fresh taste of it and the different textures in the salad.

Other favorite salads include:

Lemon and Summer Fruit Salad – Spinach Salad – Lemon Dijon Salad with Apples, Pomegranates Seeds and Hazelnuts. 

Print

Willamette Valley Salad

Ingredients

• 2 heads of romaine lettuce turn into pieces
• 2 avocados peeled and sliced
• 1/3 lb. blue cheese
• 1 C hazelnuts toasted and chopped

Dressing

• 1/3 C red wine vinegar
• 2/3 C olive oil
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine dressing ingredients together.
2. Put greens in a bowl.
3. Toss lightly with dressing.
4. Add avocados, blue cheese and hazelnuts on top

Toasting Hazelnuts

1. To toast the nuts put them in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
2. Heat oven to 350 and toast for 5-10 minutes
3. Shake pan occasionally.
4. Allow to cool and chop.

Enjoy!

Leigh Anne

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Leigh Anne

Hi – I’m Leigh Anne! Food, family and friends are three of my favorite things. I love sharing easy, delicious recipes and entertaining ideas that everyone will love. When she started her blog, Your Homebased Mom, over 9 years ago she had no idea that it would one day house over 2,400 recipes and ideas! .

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Leigh Anne

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