There are good ideas and there are great ideas. When I saw the original recipe for this on 6Bittersweets, I knew that it was a good idea. Grapes and goat cheese – what a great combination! As I was preparing the salad, I had some inspiration. I substituted avocado slices for the red onions that originally were paired with this salad, swapped out walnuts for candied pecans and added a bit of white balsamic vinegar to the dressing. End result? A great idea.
As I was photographing this salad, my parents stopped by briefly. I got their input on the picture and the moment we got the photo we wanted, my non-salad-eating dad grabbed the plate and inhaled this. He thought it was fantastic. If that doesn’t say something, I don’t know what does.
mixed greens with grapes, goat cheese, avocado & candied pecans
inspired by Joylicious, as featured on www.6bittersweets.com
(please note… this is a *salad* folks… add as much or little of any particular ingredient as you want!)
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup white or brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
several handfuls of mixed spring greens
red grapes (I used a small bunch for our two salads)
goat cheese (I used about 1 tbsp per salad)
1 medium avocado, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4″ slices (I used about 4-5 slices per salad)
1 tbsp good quality olive oil per person
1/2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar per person (we used a cranberry pear infused white balsamic, but I think it would be fine with a regular white balsamic as well)
sea salt and pepper for sprinkling on top
In a sautee pan over medium heat, add the pecans, brown sugar and butter and stir until caramelized. Remove and place on a sheet of wax paper in a single layer. Let cool while you assemble the rest of the salad.
Place a layer of greens on each plate. Add some grapes, crumble some goat cheese, and layer with some slices of avocado. Place several candied pecans on each salad. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil and vinegar. Pour over individual salads, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, and serve immediately.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Nicole@HeatOvenTo350 // Aug 25, 2011 at 12:26 pm
What a great looking salad! I agree, I love grapes with goat cheese. And any excuse to buy another kind of vinegar.
2 Reem // Aug 25, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Lovely and healthy salad!!! Cranberry and peach infused vinegar sounds delicious…. Lovely…