Green salads are one of my favorite things to bring to dinners and potluck! They are usually a fresh and flavorful addition to any meal. This salad has blue cheese, dried tart cherries and caramelized pecans with a balsamic dressing.We have a basic equation for tasty salads:
greens + fruit + nut + cheese= deliciousness.
We made this salad by first tossing the greens in a simple balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. This gives everything a nice coating of the dressing! We also add fresh ground pepper.
And for the toppings, there are many great combinations. This one was a particularly good blend of flavors and textures with a soft, crumbled blue cheese, the tart dried cherries, and pecans that I caramelized.Here are few other ingredients you can mix and match to make your own favorite salad. You can stock many of them in your fridge and pantry for spontaneous salad ideas- especially the dried fruit.
Nuts:
• toasted walnuts
• caramelized walnuts
• toasted pecans
• caramelized pecans
• toasted pine nuts
• toasted almonds
Cheeses:
• blue cheese
• feta cheese
• parmesan cheese
Fruits:
• fresh apples
• fresh pears
• fresh Asian pears
• fresh blueberries
• fresh raspberries
• fresh oranges
• fresh strawberries
• dried cherries
• dried cranberries
Some of our other favorite combinations are: apple, feta, toasted walnut; pear, blue cheese, and toasted walnut. Mmm, have fun making your own favorites!
2 comments:
I follow that equation too! I am a little more liberal with the "nut" category though. To me, anything crunchy can fit in there... sunflower seeds, croutons, those little crunchy sesame things, even tortilla chips!
I love your formula but follow the rainbow idea and try to get as many colors as possible in. It's a little overwhelming on the palate but irresistible to the eye.
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