Description
This is a tasty summer salad to enjoy when fresh blueberries are in peak season. It’s made with baby arugula, crunchy cucumbers, blueberries, homemade maple-candied pecans, crumbled goat cheese, fresh mint, and tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 5oz baby arugula
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 mini cucumber, diced
- Maple-candied pecans (recipe below)
- 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese (or feta cheese)
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped mint (optional)
- Balsamic vinaigrette dressing (recipe below)
Maple-candied pecans
- 1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts)
- 4 teaspoons pure maple syrup
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey (or maple syrup)
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced (optional)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make the maple-candied pecans. Add the pecans and maple syrup to a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir continuously until the nuts are well coated and there is no more liquid left in the skillet (approximately 5 minutes).
- Immediately remove from the heat and spread the nuts evenly on parchment paper. Let cool completely (about 20-30 minutes). Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Make the balsamic vinaigrette. In a jar with a fitted lid, add the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, minced garlic (if using), extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Seal the jar and shake until the dressing is well combined. Don’t have a jar? Whisk everything in a small bowl.
- Assemble the salad and enjoy! In a large bowl, add the baby arugula and drizzle half of the prepared dressing on top. Toss together until evenly coated.
- Add the fresh blueberries, cucumber, maple-candied pecans, crumbled goat cheese and fresh mint. Drizzle the rest of the dressing over everything and serve. (You may not need to use all of the dressing).
Notes
- Leftovers? If you think there will be leftover salad, keep the salad and dressing separate. It will keep up to 24 hours ahead of time in the fridge.
- Candied pecans. It’s normal for candied nuts to remain slightly sticky until cooled. If they are still sticky after cooling, it probably means you didn’t cook them long enough.
- Arugula substitute: Use mixed greens, green leaf lettuce, or red leaf lettuce.
- Blueberry subsitute: Use strawberries, blackberries, chopped apple, or chopped pear.
- Nutrition information is a rough estimate based on 4 servings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 315
- Sugar: 14.2g
- Sodium: 167mg
- Fat: 25.6g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 19.5g
- Fiber: 3.6g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 11mg