Ingredients
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Four big handfulls Salad leaves
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1 handfull Cherries
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1/2 handful Almonds
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about 50g Goat cheese
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Dressing
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1 tablespoon Olive Oil
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1 tablespoon Vinegar
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1/2 tablespoon Honey
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pinch Kosher Salt
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grind Black Pepper
Directions
Green salads get boring very fast. You can make them more exciting by adding fruit, nuts and cheese in combinations that work well together. This salad uses creamy chalky goats cheese and fresh cherries. Basically, you can use whatever fruit is in season and then choose a cheese or nut to match.
Pear with blue cheese & walnuts is a classic combination, apples with cheddar work well, feta with pomegranate and pistachios are also great. Use your imagination and add whatever flavours you love.
Salad Leaves
You can use any salad leaves you have. You can just chop up boring old iceberg lettuce if you like as the fruit, cheese & nuts will add interest and a flavour punch. A bag or two of mixed leaves from your supermarket will also work fine with any salad. However the more interesting your leaves the better your salad will be. Think about the cheese and fruit you are using and select leaves that will go well;
- Cherries, goat cheese and almonds – rocket & nettle.
- Pear with blue cheese & walnuts – endives & lambs lettuce.
- Apples with cheddar – Chinese cabbage.
- Feta with pomegranate and pistachios – rocket & spinach.
Pickles
Another great way to lift a salad is to add a small amount of pickled vegetables. Sweet gherkins, beetroot and red cabbage are all good options. In this recipe with cherries and creamy goat’s cheese I like to use a small amount of sweet pickled red cabbage which works wonderfully with the cheese.
Cuisines
You can also vary the salad to match any type of cuisine, for example;
- Moroccan – feta with pomegranate and pistachios, rocket & spinach with fresh mint.
- Indian – paneer, almonds, pickled red onion on spinach with fresh coriander.
- Thai – peanuts, bok choy, red chili, basil & coriander with pickled radish and lime.
- Chinese – Chinese cabbage, grated ginger, beansprouts and spring onions.
- Mexican – Cotija cheese (anything strong and salty will work), avocado, lime juice and epazote herbs.
Note for the dressing you can vary your vinegar to match your cuisine. Instead of red wine vinegar, you can use citrus juice, rice wine, soy sauce or fish sauce.
Steps
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1
Done
5 mins
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The dressingMix the dressing ingredients together well. |
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2
Done
5 mins
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Make the salad.Wash and drain the salad leaves and lay them out on a platter. Pit and halve the cherries then break up the cheese into small chunks and sprinkle both evenly over the leaves. Last of all add the nuts and then drizzle the dressing over everything. Add a few pickled veg or a sprinkle of fresh chopped herbs if you are using them. |
