Ingredients
2 heads Bibb lettuce (cleaned and cut into quarters)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup light oil, (grape seed, peanut or canola)
1/4 cup walnut or some other nut oil
8 ounces Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup Hazelnut, roasted, coarsely crushed
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
(optional are two tablespoons or an 1/8 cup dried cranberries that are plumped up by soaking in brandy, sherry, grappa or some other alcohol)
Preparation
Here’s what you do:
Heat large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season lettuce with salt and pepper. Mix the two oils and add 1/2 of the mixture to pan. Next, you quickly sauté the wedges of lettuce to wilt the outside and keep a bit of crunch on the inside. This gives the Boston lettuce an almost sweet and rich taste, which plays off the saltiness of the Gorgonzola.
Add lettuce and sauté 1 to 2 minutes per side (until half wilted).
Remove and divide lettuce among 4 oven-proof plates. Place 2 ounces of Gorgonzola on each plate next to lettuce.
Place plates in oven 2 minutes until cheese is soft but not melting. Remove plates from oven. Add remaining oil to same pan and sauté hazelnuts 1 minute. Season hazelnuts with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat and add sherry vinegar. Divide hazelnuts and dressing over lettuce and serve warm.
The roasted hazelnuts add a nutty counterpoint to the vinegar.
