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Goat Cheese Salad Recipe

Take Your Choice Of Raspberry Or Beet With Pecan Accents In A Raspberry-Citrus Vinaigrette

Introduction

While this salad is delicious any day of the year, the red raspberries evoke holidays: Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Independence Day, for example.

You can make the same salad with beets instead of raspberries. You can cut the beets into heart shapes with a cookie cutter; but that level of cuteness is best made for families with children.

An alternative to goat cheese: Substitute feta and strawberries for the goat cheese and raspberries.

• Find more salad recipes.
• Take a look at these beautiful beet and goat cheese “ravioli.”
• These beet and goat cheese stacks are gorgeous.

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

• 1 head red leaf lettuce
• 2 hearts of romaine lettuce
• 1 mandarin orange—or
  1 small can mandarin orange segments in their own juice or light syrup—or
  1/2 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 red onion
• 1 log mild goat cheese
• 4 ounces honey-roasted pecans (or plain toasted pecans or walnuts)
• 1/2 pint fresh raspberries

Raspberry Citrus Vinaigrette Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pint fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Optional Garnishes

Preparation

For Salad

1. Wash the lettuce very carefully. Trim off any discolored edges; then spin dry. If you don't have a salad spinner, lay the lettuce out on clean kitchen towels or paper towels and allow the towels to absorb any liquid.
2. Cut the cleaned and trimmed lettuce into bites size pieces. Unless you have a ceramic knife or a plastic lettuce knife, DO NOT USE A KNIFE as contact with metal causes the edges to brown quickly and can impart a metallic taste.
3. Place the torn leaves in a large salad bowl. A glass salad bowl shows off the beauty of the salad.
4. Slice the red onion as thin as possible and separated the rings; add to salad bowl. Toss in the Pecans.
5. Peel and segment the orange or drain the can of mandarin orange slices; and add to the bowl.
6. Wash the raspberries carefully; spread on a paper towel to dry.
   

For Vinaigrette

1. Combine raspberry vinegar, salt, pepper, orange juice, mustard and raspberries (retain a few for garnish) in a mixing bowl.
2. Slowly whisk in the oil so that the dressing does not separate. The raspberries will break apart: Don't worry, they are supposed to.

Assembly

You can prepare the salad earlier in the day and make the dressing just before serving.

1. Crumble the goat cheese log over the salad.
2. Add the remaining fresh raspberries and the dressing.
3. Toss with your hands just toss to incorporate the ingredients. Don’t over-toss because you want the cheese to remain in small chunks.
4. Serve immediately, topping each plate with a fresh raspberry or two.

Recipe © copyright Andrea Watman | Zabar’s. Other material