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shaved veg salad 4

Crunchy Shaved Vegetable and Apple Salad with Stilton

This crunchy, bright shaved vegetable salad is an ode to the iconic dish served at Maude’s Liquor Bar and Au Cheval in Chicago. It is satisfying and punchy and is phenomenal served all by itself, alongside a roast chicken, or paired with something rich like braised short ribs—or a cheeseburger, like they do at Au Cheval! The key to getting the best crunchy texture is to use a mandoline slicer to get your vegetables and apple paper-thin. You can slice everything with a knife, but a mandoline is significantly faster and more consistent. We like the Benriner Japanese vegetable slicer (the go-to for most restaurant kitchens)—just be careful to curl your fingers back and use the finger guard or a kitchen towel to protect your hand. 
Pro tip: For extra-crunchy vegetables, thinly slice all of your vegetables and apple and shock them in an ice bath for 10 to 15 minutes before dressing your salad (you’ll want to soak the sliced red beet separately). Drain well and pat dry before continuing with the recipe.
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Ingredients
  

Vinaigrette

  • 3 Tablespoons Champagne vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ¾ teaspoon granulated sugar
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • ⅓ cup canola or grapeseed oil

Salad

  • 1 small red or yellow beet peeled and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
  • 1 medium fennel bulb halved, cored, and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
  • 1 large carrot peeled and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
  • 3 large radishes very thinly sliced on a mandoline
  • 2 packed cups very thinly sliced red cabbage (sliced on a mandoline)
  • 1 Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apple halved, cored, and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 3 ounces Stilton blue cheese thinly sliced
  • ½ cup toasted chopped walnuts
  • Snipped chives, fresh tarragon, and Italian parsley leaves for garnish
  • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions
 

Make the Vinaigrette

  • In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar with the lemon juice, mustard, sugar, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth. While whisking constantly, slowly stream in both oils until the vinaigrette is thick and emulsified. If needed, add more oil until you have your desired balance of acid and fat. Season again with salt and pepper.

Make the Salad

  • Set up a small ice bath and a large ice bath. Shock the sliced red beet in the small ice bath for 15 minutes. Drain well and pat dry. In the large ice bath, shock the remaining sliced vegetables and the apple for 15 minutes. Drain well and pat dry. This extra step gives you extra-crisp produce. If you are in a rush, then you can skip right to tossing your salad.
  • In a large bowl, toss all of the vegetables and the apple with some of the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper and add more vinaigrette, if needed (this salad can take a lot of dressing, but you may have some left over). Pile the salad high in a serving bowl. Top with the sliced Stilton, toasted walnuts, chives, tarragon, and parsley. Finish with flaky sea salt and more cracked black pepper. Serve right away.
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