Green Salad with Candied Walnuts and Pomegranate Dressing

In this salad, bright red and tangy pomegranate seeds, sweet and crunchy walnuts, smooth and distinctive blue cheese and crisp salad greens are tossed together to provide a wonderful combination of contrasting color, texture and flavor. Available from early fall through late January, pomegranates can be tedious to peel and separate; but the rewards are worth the effort. They are high in antioxidants and are a great source of potassium. Their bright color and tart flavor add interest to this and many other Mediterranean dishes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly butter the foil. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to boil. Add the walnuts, return to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Drain immediately and return the walnuts to the saucepan. Stir in the powdered sugar and spread the coated nuts on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes and then stir the walnuts. Return to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Remove the nuts from the foil and break the nuts apart if necessary.

Reserve 12 candied walnut halves. Toss the remaining walnuts together with the salad greens, blue cheese, pomegranate seeds and the dressing in a large salad bowl. Divide among 6 salad plates, top each plate with 2 of the reserved walnut halves and serve.