This time of 12 months, I’m so tempted to simply throw a easy inexperienced salad tossed with lemon juice and olive oil alongside no matter foremost I’m serving for dinner each night time. When greens are so recent and flavorful, why make life extra sophisticated? Nicely, I’ll let you know why: As a result of the addition of a little bit dynamic duo — cheese and fruit — takes your salad to the subsequent stage, with little or no power expended. Listed here are 4 of my favourite combos:
Strawberries + Feta
“You may all the time, all the time, all the time depend on feta to make a stunning salad out of virtually any summer time fruit,” says Emily Nunn, writer of the wildly widespread Division of Salad publication. “The salty, barely creamy tang is ideal with watermelon or cantaloupe, stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines), tomatoes, or all of the berries.” Personally, I’m keen on the best way feta pairs with the candy acidity of strawberries. Attempt: Toss gem lettuce with cooled roasted beets, strawberries, torn mint, crumbled feta, scallions, and crushed pistachios. Dressing: In a small jar or measuring cup, shake or whisk 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 1/2 teaspoon honey, salt and pepper. As soon as blended, shake or whisk 1/3 cup olive oil into jar in regular stream till emulsified.
Blueberries + Goat Cheese
The tang of goat cheese has all the time benefited from a contact of sweetness — assume how usually you see it paired with issues like honey, jam, or dried fruit — so it is sensible that it’s a pure companion to summer time blueberries. (Proven are July Maine blueberries, however I’m not holding you to that prime a typical.) Attempt: Toss romaine (or blended greens), goat cheese, blueberries, scallions, and toasted pecans. Dressing: In a small jar or measuring cup, shake 1/4 cup sherry vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper. As soon as blended, shake or whisk 1/2 cup oil into jar in regular stream till emulsified.
Peaches/Nectarines + Blue Cheese
Juicy stone fruits — peaches and nectarines, specifically — are a traditional match for a savory, pungent blue. It sounds unusual, however mould loves sugar! You simply wish to ensure you have the ripest fruit yow will discover — an unripe, tart slice of nectarine or peach doesn’t work right here. Attempt: Toss collectively tomatoes (any type, however minimize into chew dimension items if not grape or cherry), chunked peaches, and crumbled blue cheese. Greens: non-compulsory. Dressing: Somewhat olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Figs + Halloumi (or Parm or Blue or Nearly Something)
There’s a purpose why fig jam has been showing on cheese plates throughout the web and IRL up to now decade: Figs pair effectively with virtually all flavors from sharp (Parm) to smelly (blue) and, as Ripe Figs writer Yasmin Khan reminded final 12 months, to salty (halloumi, above). “For me, the perfect meals mixtures are as a lot about texture as taste,” says Khan. “In a fig and halloumi salad, the distinction between the candy, sticky fruit and the salty, squidgy fried cheese provides you the proper mouthfeel.” Attempt: Yasmin’s salad! Or arugula with crumbled blue cheese, quartered ripe figs, scallions, chives. Dressing: In a small jar or measuring cup, shake or whisk 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper. As soon as blended, shake or whisk 1/2 cup oil into jar in regular stream till emulsified.
P.S. A potato salad trick and the one 5 salad dressings you want.
(Photograph of figs and halloumi for Ripe Figs by Matt Russell.)
