Fall Spinach Salad with Apples and Cherries

Do you have this one food or one dish that for a time you cannot tire of and crave constantly? For me, right now, it is this very salad. Lately, I have been making this salad a couple times a week. It’s a good thing the dish I am craving is a salad or I would be in some trouble!

This salad is about as simple as it gets. There really isn’t much cooking involved. In fact, the only cooking that takes place is toasting almonds!

Despite being meat-free, this is a hearty and filling dish, thanks to almonds, goat cheese and spinach. There is so much good nutrition going on here, you could eat the entire bowl! (I may have.)

Here’s what you need to build the salad:

Here’s what you need for the vinaigrette:

This balsamic vinaigrette is a standard recipe I use all of the time. To stay on top of things, I like to make a large batch and keep it in my refrigerator. The olive oil will likely solidify a bit from the cold temperature, so just leave it out on the counter for a few minutes and give it a shake to re-emulsify it.

Toast the nuts first and let them cool.

Do this as the first step in making the salad so the nuts have time to cool. Just place them in a dry pan over medium-low heat and toss them every couple minutes. Keep an eye on them. They go from golden brown to burned the moment you forget about them.

Dice the apple into bite-sized pieces and chop the cherries.

This is just for even distribution, so you get perfectly proportioned bites every time. I recommend dicing the apple last so it doesn’t have time to oxidize before going into the salad.

Crumble the goat cheese while it is cold.

It just makes it a lot easier to handle. I recommend somewhere between 2 and 4 ounces total of goat cheese. We are pretty big cheese eaters, so we usually go for something closer to 4, but I know that is a lot for some, so start with 2 and build up from there as needed.

Not a fan of goat cheese? No problem! Substitute feta, sharp cheddar or parmesan.

This salad comes together quickly! Just assemble the ingredients, add the vinaigrette and give it a toss! It makes a great light lunch on its own or even a starter for other other courses! I love it topped with pulled rotisserie chicken or pan-seared salmon fillets!

Other recipes to try:

• Orange, Farro and Almond Salad with Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Grilled Peach Salad with Proscuitto, Bleu Cheese and Candied Pecans
• Grapefruit, Avocado and Feta Salad with Quinoa