Summer Berry Goat Cheese Salad

Pin It

How was your weekend?  Mine was relaxing and productive (snore, I know).  Took a bike ride, barely dodged the rain.  Met a friend for an afternoon coffee, barely dodged the rain.  Both times got lucky and was just drizzled on in between down pours.  Typical Brussels weather.  One minute it's sunny, the next it's raining buckets without warning.  I also did lots of cooking and had a successful trip to the market.  See?  Productive.  I don't know what took me so long to get into these markets.  Maybe it was the fact that I am normally not successful in leaving the house before 2pm on the weekend.  Maybe it was because I was afraid or felt guilty of butchering French over and over again at each and every stand.  Either way, no more excuses.  I love the market and getting by on hand signals doesn't seem to be a problem.

Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries and fresh goat cheese from farm to market to table.  Lettuce, too.  It was nice to wash the dirt off of the lettuce instead of pesticides. 

Surprisingly, we got to enjoy this salad on the patio in between down pours.  Perfect timing.

I heard it's been a heat wave in the US.  This is the perfect salad for those hot hot days where you wouldn't dream of turning on the oven or even the stove.   Creamy goat cheese on a bed of leafy greens topped with summer berries and a homemade raspberry vinaigrette.  Need I say more?  We will be making this Summer Berry Goat Cheese Salad all summer long. 

Summer Berry Goat Cheese Salad

Serves 2 as a main course

Ingredients:
Half a head of leafy green lettuce
1 big handful of spinach
1/2 c strawberries, sliced
1/2 c raspberries
1/2 c blueberries
1/4 c almonds, chopped
1/3 c goat cheese, chopped into crumbly bits
1 recipe Raspberry Vinaigrette as follows

Raspberry Vinaigrette:
1 clove garlic diced
2 T raspberry vinegar
1 T olive oil
2 T water
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Squeeze of 1/4 of a lemon

Directions:
Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a glass jar and shake.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, layer in lettuce, spinach, berries, goat cheese and almonds.  Pour dressing over salad, refrigerating leftovers for up to one week.  Serve Immediately. 

Bon Appétit!

I couldn't really eat it in one of those bowls.  A girl needs room to move things around and mix things up. 

Did you do anything fun this weekend?  Do anything to beat the heat?  Now it's time to catch up on the last 3 eps of the Bachelorette.  This girl has been seriously slackin'.  Enjoy your Sunday! Pin It