Spring grilling often features light but bright flavors and this recipe from the BBQ Grail is no exception.
 
Recently I wrote about a Grilled Cheese and Apple Medley Salad that I had made.  Over the past couple of days I’ve given some thought to that salad.  It didn’t quite come out like I wanted.  It was really far too sweet.  I suppose some people would want a salad that tasted more like it should be desert but I’m not one of them.  It just lacked some “bite.”
The first thing I changed was the Apple Coulis.  It was really just far too sweet.  It would have been great spooned over vanilla ice cream but as a salad it just didn’t work.  I took the remainder of the Apple Coulis and reduced it on the stove by about half.  This gave me a much thicker sauce that I figured would cover the apples and greens better.  Once I got the thickness I wanted I started adding apple cider vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until I got the bite I wanted.  I ended adding another 2 teaspoons of vinegar.  This gave me a nice sweet and sour flavor.
So the Apple Coulis recipe now looks like this:

Apple Coulis

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 3/4 cup apple sauce
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Apple cider vinegar
Directions:

In a small saucepan combine sugar, water and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Stir in the apple sauce and cook until reduced by 1/2. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Turn off head and stir in vinegar. Let cool completely before serving.
The second change I made was to switch up the cheese.  Although the grilling cheese was good it didn’t have a flavor that provided enough contrast to the sweetness in the apples.  This time I used a really nice Irish White Cheddar.  The Irish Cheddar is very sharp and paired very nicely with the apples and the coulis.
Plating was pretty much the same.  A little Apple Coulis on the bottom of the salad bowl, greens, apples and nuts.  This was a much better salad.  Where the first salad was good, the second time around the salad was good enough that I would actually make it again.