Peach salad

I really thought the picture was much better...
until I saw it on the computer and not the phone.The iPhone.

I was heading to my friend ES's pool for a grill dinner. Which is great for sooo many reasons (I don't have a pool, ES is fantastic, someone else was cooking...), but especially because we could have dinner on the grill.

I had bought some peaches, and for some reason, REALLY wanted to make a salad with them. I don't know why. I don't think I've even eaten peaches on a salad before. But it was enjoyable. I'd do it again.

But, in prepping for the salad, I researched like 50 recipes for "green salad peaches." In the end, I combined ideas from several different posts, but found this one to be the ingredients most in line with what I had on hand. (Note to self, I want to start following this kitchenist.com blog. She has better photos than me. Amongst other things...)

Of course, I came up with my own recipe, but here it goes:

3 small peaches
2 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t lemon juice (But it probably would have been better to leave out...)
sea salt and black pepper
dash of garlic powder
1/4 c Parm cheese  (But would have used 1/4 cup grated strong cheddar, if I had it)
6 large handfuls rocket/arugula (bitter greens... I surprisingly had some assortment from the CSA)
1 large handful baby spinach
1 green onion, diced
1 Tbs. chopped almond slivers (but would have been interested in pecans)

1. Rub the peaches under water and scrub hard to pull the fuzz off. (or pretend like you did)

2. Remove the stone and cut the peach into 8 wedges. Or as many as you want.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, optional lemon juice, and salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste. (If I had used cheddar: Add the grated cheese and stir well, breaking up the strands of cheese as much as possible.)

4. Rinse and dry the greens, then place in a large prep bowl. Add the nuts and dressing, and toss well with your fingers.

5. Arrange the peach wedges on top of the salad plate. Sprinkle the parm cheese over the top and serve.
(to be honest, my peaches weren't really sweet- and since they had to travel- I diced them up and put them in a container with a drizzle of honey- and then poured them on. I can't wait for peach season- when I'll definitely make this again.)


When trying to find the base recipe again, I stumbled onto this post from thekitchn.com that I think will be a good reference for salads in the future. I nice little salad formula. The nerd in me likes formulas:

We have a couple of thoughts. First of all, you could easily improvise by following our rule of thumb with salads: something salty, something sweet, something soft, and something crunchy. In this case the goat cheese is soft, the peaches are sweet (and soft), and you could add pistachios for salty and crunchy. Hold to this partially with the vinaigrette too; balance some good olive oil with a touch of vinegar or lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Add a dash of sugar if you want it sweeter. The key is to taste as you go along.