Peach Salad with Walnut Dressing
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 ripe peaches, unpeeled, sliced or cut in chunks
- 2 ripe nectarines, sliced
- 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
- 1 cup celeriac, peeled and shredded (use box grater)
- 6 cups lettuce greens, or greens of choice
For the Walnut Dressing:
- ¾ to 1 cup walnuts, or nuts of choice
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. maple syrup
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 to 2 tsp. thyme or chives, chopped
- ½ cup olive oil
For the Garnish and Other Add-in Ideas:
- Avocado, chopped/sliced
- Feta or goat cheese
- Pomegranate seeds
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- Various herbs
Instructions
To toast walnuts:
- Should be done first – while nuts are toasting, do all of the chopping and cutting.
- Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 350°F.
- Place walnuts in a baking pan.
- Place in pre-heated oven and roast for 8 to11 minutes until fragrant.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool while still in baking pan.
To assemble salad:
- Place greens on a platter or wide-mouthed bowl.
- Scatter peaches, nectarines, cucumbers and any other garnish/fillings on top.
To prepare the walnut dressing:
- Add all walnut dressing ingredients to a food processor.
- Pulse until walnuts are coarsely chopped; if a processor is not available, chop walnuts;.
- Once walnuts are chopped, add other ingredients, except oil; pulse until well blended.
- Add oil and pulse until well blended.
- Drizzle dressing over peach salad.
Notes
The peach salad can be prepped ahead; just add the walnut dressing, which can be made several days ahead, before serving.
If you are using avocado, apples or pears and want to cut them up a couple of hours ahead, toss them with a bit of lemon juice to keep them from browning.