39 minutes
A delightful salad featuring plump dried cherries, crisp apples, toasted walnuts, and warm herbed goat cheese.
Dried Cherries
cups
tablespoons
tablespoons
Shallots, minced
teaspoons
teaspoons
teaspoons
tablespoons
to taste
Mixed Hearty Salad Greens
cups
Granny Smith Apples, cored, quartered, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
each
Walnuts, toasted and chopped
cups
Herbed Goat Cheese, baked
0 recipe
1. Plump Cherries
Plump the dried cherries by soaking them in ½ cup of hot water for about 10 minutes.
2. Prepare Vinaigrette
In a small bowl, combine cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced shallot, salt, and sugar. Whisk these ingredients together until the sugar and salt dissolve. Then, slowly drizzle in the extra-virgin olive oil while continuing to whisk vigorously. Season the vinaigrette with pepper to taste.
3. Dress Salad Greens
Place the mixed hearty salad greens in a large bowl. Drizzle the freshly prepared vinaigrette over the greens and toss gently to ensure each leaf is evenly coated with the dressing.
4. Assemble Salads
Divide the dressed salad greens evenly among six individual plates. Drain the plump cherries and scatter them over each plate. Add the thinly sliced Granny Smith apples and the toasted, chopped walnuts to each salad.
5. Top with Warm Goat Cheese
Prepare the warm herbed goat cheese according to the 'Herbed Baked Goat Cheese Salad' recipe. Place a piece of warm goat cheese on top of each salad.
Choose crisp, tart-sweet apples like Honeycrisp or Pink Lady, opt for high-quality dried cherries if fresh are out of season, and find a fresh, creamy goat cheese for the best melt.
Create a balanced dressing with sweetness, acidity, and a touch of salt, and dress the salad right before serving to maintain crispness.
Gently warm the goat cheese in the oven just until it's soft and slightly melty, avoiding overheating to maintain its structure.
Drizzle honey over the warm goat cheese and add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for extra complexity and crunch.
Finely chop fresh herbs and mix them into the goat cheese before warming to infuse the cheese with aromatic flavors.
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