Romaine Ribbons with Roasted Garlic Dressing

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Recipe by from the cookbook Everything Tastes Better with Garlic by Sara Perry. Recipe appeared in The Oregonian newspaper's  FOODay, Tuesday, July 12, 2005.

Check out Linda's wonderful  Salad and Salad Dressing Recipes.

Romaine Ribbons with Roasted Garlic Dressing

Dressing:
1 head roasted garlic  (about 2 ounces)*
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 to 3 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil

* To roast a head of garlic, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice off the top of the head to expose the tips of the cloves. Place the head, root side down, in a small ovenproof dish. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the exposed tips. (If desired, a teaspoon of water can also be added, and so can a sprinkling of salt.) Cover tightly with foil. Bake until tender and golden, about 1 hour. Remove from oven.

Reserve the oil from the roasted garlic. Squeeze the soft, golden cloves out of their skins and transfer to a mini-processor. Add the rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, and pepper; blend until smooth. Add the olive oil and the reserved garlic oil and blend until combined.

Salad:
1 large head romaine lettuce, coarse leaves removed, remaining leaves rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts or pecans*

* To toast nuts, heat in a dry skillet over medium heat until they start to brown. Stir occasionally. Be careful not to scorch them.

Stack 6 to 8 romaine leaves at a time and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide ribbons. Place the ribbons into a large salad bowl, drizzle with half the dressing, and toss. Taste, adding additional dressing as desired.

To Serve:  Divide the salad among 4 individual salad plates. Garnish each with 1 tablespoon blue cheese and 1 tablespoon walnuts.

Makes 4 servings.