This salad combines halved cherries and sliced fennel with a baked goat cheese round coated in sliced almonds. The recipe here isn’t really important; there are two key points I take from it. 1st, the combination of cherries and fennel rocks. And 2nd, the method for preparing the goat cheese is an delicious, healthier alternative to the typical fried goat cheese round you find on a restaurant salad. Other than these two points, you can play with this recipe any way you like. Any volume and variety of greens, cherries, and fennel will work for you here, or you could try other fruit and vegetable combinations. You could coat the goat cheese in finely chopped pecans instead of sliced almonds. And you can use any dressing that strikes your fancy. This time I used a mix I already had on hand made of raspberry balsamic vinegar, shallots, Dijon mustard, and olive oil. The tarragon in the original recipe goes well here though, so throw it in if you have it on hand. Enjoy!
I love salads with fruit and goat cheese, much like this one. In fact, this year we ate a salad of greens with strawberries, pecans, and Celebrity Dairy Farm’s strawberry goat cheese at least 4x a week from April-June. I wrote about this cherry and fennel salad in the early days of the blog, back when I was still on blogspot and we had a hideous set of cheap dishes. Two huge bags of cherries languishing in my fridge inspired me to make it this week for dinner. I thought it was worth a 2nd look here and I hope you’ll agree.
Mesclun and Cherry Salad with Warm Goat Cheese
Serves 6
2 tbsp. roasted almond oil or olive oil
2 tbsp. finely chopped shallot
2 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
3/4 cup sliced almonds (about 3 oz.)
1 large egg
1 tbsp. water
1 11-oz. log soft fresh goat cheese, cut crosswise into 6 rounds
6 cups (packed) mixed baby greens or baby spinach
1 cup halved pitted fresh Bing cherries (about 7 oz.)
1 fresh fennel bulb, cleaned and sliced into thin strips
Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Season dressing generously with salt and pepper.
Spread almonds on plate. Whisk egg and 1 tbsp. water in small bowl; sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Turn goat cheese rounds in egg mixture, then coat with sliced almonds, covering all sides. Place on rimmed baking sheet. Bake goat cheese rounds until cheese is warm but not melted, about 10 minutes.
Combine greens, cherries, and fennel in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among 6 plates. Place 1 cheese round on each plate and serve.
From Bon Appétit
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