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Monday, August 19, 2013

Recipe: Goat Cheese & Cranberry Salad

Do you ever find yourself fascinated with an ingredient? No? Well, I do, sometimes and then I can’t help but try to experiment with it, especially if it’s something unfamiliar to me. This past week’s fix was goat cheese. Believe it or not, it is a very strange ingredient to find in my fridge, as I don’t actually like goat dairy products. I always found the taste a bit odd, but then, a few weeks back, while I was out at some restaurant we ordered a dish that was essentially goat cheese and beets and to my great surprise it was delicious! So naturally, I had to get goat cheese and try to make something with it.

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This is a very simple dish but it is nonetheless delicious and I highly recommend giving it a try. If you are like me and are skittish of such ingredients as goat cheese, this salad just might change your mind.

Goat Cheese & Cranberry Salad
Servings 2



Ingredients:
1 cup red leaf lettuce
2 cups arugula
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup roasted pecans
¼ cup marcona almonds (optional)
Goat cheese, crumbled


Vinaigrette:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
Salt and pepper




Preparation:
In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar and honey, then slowly whisk in the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. [I suggest to give the dressing a try and adjust it to your taste, whether adding a bit more honey if you prefer it on a sweeter side, or a bit more pepper for a nice kick. Also, the above quantities give you a proportion of ingredients, so you may choose to double the quantity if you prefer more dressing on your salad or like to make some ahead. This vinaigrette will keep in a fridge for up to 2 days.]

Put lettuce and arugula in a large bowl. Add dried cranberries, roasted pecans, marcona almond pieces (if using) and toss to combine. Scatter crumbled goat cheese over the top. [Feel free to add as much or as little goat cheese as you like.] Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve - viola!

Enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. Goat cheese can be an acquired taste, and some varieties are better than others. This is the perfect end of summer/beginning of fall recipe...the peppery taste of the arugula, sweet/tart of the cranberries, nuttiness from the pecans and goat cheese to round it out...YUM! Thanks for sharing. I'll be making this soon!

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  2. This sounds delightful, and I love cranberries and the pecans would give it balance and texture..thanks for sharing this!

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    Replies
    1. It is indeed! As I said I'm not a big fan of goat cheese, but the combination of these ingredients is great! :) Thanks for commenting ladies.

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