Brussels Sprout Leaf, Watercress and Celery Salad with Roquefort Dressing

From Salades, Damien Pignolet, Lantern, 2010.

The dressing for this salad was made by mixing some Roquefort with crème fraîche and lemon juice and whisking them until the dressing had achieved a balance that tasted right. Salt and pepper were added, again to taste. This dressing was very creamy.

For the salad I separated Brussels sprout leaves and gave them a quick blanch, though the recipe did not call for this. Some inner celery stalks were cut into thin strips and added together with some of the leaves. An apple was sliced thinly and given a quick toss in some lemon juice to prevent it colouring. Watercress leaves were added to the mix as well as a few other salad leaves though these were not called for.

The salad was then tossed with the creamy dressing and chopped roasted walnuts sprinkled over the surface.

Perhaps my dressing was a little too thick and should have been thinned with more lemon juice because the salad looked a bit on the white side. This did not, however, detract from its flavour because it went down well. The Roquefort was an especially good companion for the Brussels sprouts.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔