Erin’s Peach & Avocado Green Salad

This summer salad recipe from The Well Plated Cookbook features ripe peaches and avocado over fresh arugula. It’s healthy and delicious! Recipe yields a very large salad (enough for 8 side salads or 3 to 4 main salads); cut the recipe in half for a smaller crowd.

Ingreadient:

Green Salad

• ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
• 10 to 12 ounces baby arugula (12 to 15 lightly packed cups)
• 2 medium ripe peaches or nectarines, pitted and thinly sliced, peels on or off (about 2 cups)
• 2 medium ripe avocados, diced (about 2 cups)
• ⅔ cup unsalted sliced almonds
• ⅔ cup crumbled mild blue cheese*, such as gorgonzola (about 3 ½ ounces)

Lemon Dressing

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt or a heaping ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Direction

1. Make the salad: Place the red onion in a small bowl and cover with water. Let it rest while you prepare the rest of the salad. (This will keep the flavor of the onion but remove some of the harsh after-bite.) Place the arugula in a large serving bowl.
2. To toast the almonds, place them in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently (careful, they can burn), until the almonds are fragrant and starting to turn golden on the edges, about 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Make the dressing: In a small bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the dressing ingredients (the oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper).
4. Drizzle half of the dressing over the greens, then toss to coat. Drain the red onion, then scatter it over the arugula. Top with the peaches, avocados, almonds and cheese. Just before serving, drizzle on a bit more dressing and give it a final, gentle toss to combine. Enjoy, with additional dressing as desired.