Warmed and crispy goat cheese and almond rounds combine with greens and raspberries in this fabulous Warm Goat Cheese and Raspberry Salad with Raspberry Dressing.
I'm sure I'm not alone in that I've put recipes on the blog and sort of forgot about them, am I? I like to make new things and that quest will too often mean something that deserves being made again goes lacking. This Warm Goat Cheese and Raspberry Salad is a great example.
For this month's Progressive Eats theme of 'Salads' I decided to share this fantastic salad again that admittedly I haven't made in too many years. Every time I make it I promise myself I won't let that happen again. And we won't even discuss the twelve year old photos. Yes, good time for sure!
A gift of some goat cheese brought it to mind recently and the purchase of an abundance of raspberries sealed the deal. Goat cheese is wonderful with fruit and the warm, tangy cheese coated with crisp almonds in a salad topped with raspberry dressing is pretty much perfect.
If you read my last post for this Sparkling Raspberry, Vodka, and Honey Cocktail you would know that this was one of those times I had to get back on the horse or give up on raspberries forever!
This salad trifecta of baked goat cheese coated with sliced almonds combined with fresh raspberries are perfect together. So simple, so beautiful and so very good. I love the blend of tastes and textures that the warm cheese and crispy almonds bring to mixed green, green onions, and raspberries, all drizzled with a sweet/tart raspberry dressing.
The dressing does give you a variance with the amount of sugar, however, with the inclusion of the berries in the salad and the tangy component of goat cheese I go for the whole half cup...you need that bit of sweetness in the dressing for balance. You will have leftover dressing. Be very happy about that; I use it on other salads with fruits as well.
I made one other big change too. As we have done over the years with so many other things, I wanted to cut back on the olive oil. It was as easy as cutting it in half and adding some cold water; in the blender it all emulsified easily. I think tastes better too. How would I remember?
Well, I made it as directed from all those years ago but thought I would experiment with some Cherry Balsamic Vinegar that I have. Big mistake. Sure it tasted fine but the dressing was brownish red, not that beautiful raspberry color.
And I thought it a bit heavy on the olive oil. So I decided to punt and make a second batch. While I do love fresh berries, I used frozen ones for the dressing; that's one way to insure I can have berries available for recipes without the fear of overnight spoiling.
I cut the olive oil in half; the taste was fine but the dressing a bit thick, so a couple of tablespoons of cold water blended in made it perfect. Whether I have goat cheese on hand or not, I need to make this dressing a regular in the rotation; it's better than any raspberry dressing I've ever purchased.
When I first transferred this salad from my original food website I started in 1994 to this blog several years ago; I did a search to see if I could find the original recipe. If not something gleaned from a recipe card (in the 'olden' days, people put recipes on index cards and stored them in boxes...it's true!), then often the recipes I loved and posted were from either Gourmet or Bon Appetit magazines.
I was delighted when my search discovered the exact recipe at Bon Appetit, one of their reader requested RSVP recipes from the August, 2001 issue. I guess I have been making this for awhile haven't I?
The RSVP recipes were always a favorite; that someone had enjoyed a dish enough to write Bon Appetit to see if the restaurant would give them the recipe always ended up with something that turned out fantastic; I made a recipe from that section every month!
Even then it seems my tendency to have to change something was at play; it was simple revision but I loved the addition of fresh berries scattered on the salad with the goat cheese; not just present in the dressing. Either way we think it's a perfect salad and I love it as an entrée but for a more robust dinner, it's great served with grilled salmon or chicken. Truly Bon Appetit!
Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month's theme is Summer and Fall Salads, and our host is Jane who blogs at The Heritage Cook.
If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats it's a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the delicious and inspired dishes! This month we have focused on salads only...enjoy!