Blueberry, Blue Cheese, and Pecan Grilled Romaine Salad

Sweet Fresh Blueberries, tangy blue cheese, salty bacon and candied pecans come together to top a simple grilled romaine dressed with a bacon vinaigrette dressing! Blueberry, Blue Cheese, and Pecan Grilled Romaine Salad gives your mouth that comfort feel satisfying al your senses!

Be sure to read to the end of my post where I have an exciting announcement for readers of Grumpy's Honeybunch!

When asked what my very favorite fruit is, the answer is always blueberry. As a matter of fact, back in 2008 I wrote a post titled "Did I mention I love berries?" where I shared photos of pails of blueberries I had picked with my dad at a local farm. I even have a pinterest board called "blueberry recipe love"!

I was brainstorming with Justin about a salad recipe to make that included blueberries. He mentioned something with bacon and I told him I was thinking the same thing! When adding bacon to a salad, I always want a little sweet, so the blueberries were a perfect addition along with candied pecans. Adding blue cheese gave this salad a little bite that complimented the sweetness. I also wanted a warm salad so I decided it had to be grilled. This is how Blueberry, Blue Cheese, Bacon and Pecan Grilled Romaine Salad was born!

While I didn't get to pick my own blueberries for this salad, I still had to share with you the photo of the pails of blueberries I did pick several years ago! I think you would have to agree that they are gorgeous!

The most labor intensive part of this recipe was actually baking the bacon. That is what took the most time. The bacon along with the blue cheese crumbles gave this salad the protein boost it needed to make this a main dish salad. You can use regular bacon, but I highly recommend the thick cut.

Blueberry, Blue Cheese, and Pecan Grilled Romaine Salad recipe was created as an entry to the #BlueberryToss #FWCon contest sponsored by Wish Farms for Food and Wine Conference being held May 13 - 16, 2016 in Orlando, FL. I'm looking very forward to attending and am very excited because Justin, who is now a partner of Grumpy's Honeybunch, and Grumpy are going with me! It's not too late to sign up to join us, if you're interested, be sure to click on through to find out what you need to know about this contest and the conference!

Blueberry, Blue Cheese, and Pecan Grilled Romaine Salad

Recipe Type: Salad

Author: Grumpy's Honeybunch

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 2-3 servings

Feel free to substitute chicken or shrimp for the bacon as a protein on the salad. If doing so, replace the bacon fat in the vinaigrette with another tablespoon olive oil.

Ingredients

4 slices thick cut bacon
2 heads romaine lettuce, washed and sliced in half lengthwise
1 tablespoons bacon fat
1 tablespoon robust olive oil
1 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup crumbled blue cheese dressing
¼ cup candied pecans, chopped
1 cup blueberries (or more if you wish!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 strips of bacon on cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven about 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of bacon. Flip bacon half way through. Remove from oven when brown and crisp and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb fat drippings. When cool, break into smaller pieces and set aside.
Make the vinaigrette by placing bacon fat, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a small jar with a lid. Tighten cover on jar and shake well to combine dressing.
On a preheated grill, place romaine halves cut side up. Grill over medium heat about 2 minutes. Flip romaine and grill another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and assemble on serving platter.
Drizzle grilled romaine with vinaigrette and top with blueberries, blue cheese crumbles, bacon pieces and candied pecans. Serve Immediately.