Autumn Peach Salad with a Cider Vinaigrette

I know there’s a lot of people out there who aren’t a big salad fan and only eat it once in a while because they are trying to be healthy, but boy do I LOVE a good salad! My thing about salad and any stereotypical healthy food is that if you don’t like it, you’re probably not doing it right.

Now yes, I am adding candied pecans (sugar & fat) and goat cheese (fat) to the salad so some argue it’s no longer healthy, but here at Alley Does Food, healthy means balance! And frankly a salad with a few candied nuts and cheese is still better for you than eating a frozen pizza.

Now let’s get to it. What makes this salad so good? We got roasted peaches, fennel, tomatoes, candied pecans, goat cheese and dill. Oh and let’s not forget my favorite autumn dressing that I also used on my Warm Autumn Steak Salad. It’s such a simple dressing but it is one of my go-to’s especially this time of year.

This recipe is gluten-free and as always I’ve provided dairy-free and substitution options in the notes section of my recipe.

Makes for Servings

Ingredients

• 2 ripe peaches

• 1 T coconut oil

• 1 1/3 c pecans

• 1 T sugar

• 1 t salt

• 24 oz spring mix

• 1 head of fennel, thinly sliced

• 1/4 c freshly chopped dill

• 1 c cherry tomatoes

• 2-4oz goat cheese

Dressing

• 2 T Apple Cider Vinegar

• 1/4 c Olive Oil

• 1/2 t Salt & Pepper

• 2 cloves minced garlic

• 1 t honey

• 1/2 a shallot, finely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425F.

2. Place your peach slices on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Then turn your oven to broil and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the peaches start to crisp.

3. Meanwhile you can prepare your candied pecans by tossing your coconut oil, pecans, sugar and salt in a small skillet on medium heat. Stir often for about 4 minutes or until you notice the nuts begin to turn dark. Immediately remove from the heat to let them cool (the pan is still hot so toss them a few times off the heat so they don’t burn).

4. While they cool down prepare your dressing by mixing together all of the dressing ingredients.

5. Serve your peaches, pecans, fennel, dill, tomatoes and goat cheese over a bed of lettuce. Drizzle your dressing and enjoy!

Notes

Gluten-free: This recipe is gluten-free.

Dairy-free: This recipe is dairy free if you omit or substitute the goat cheese with a dairy-free option. A dairy-free ricotta might be a good sub!

Peaches: I decided to roast my peaches because I am allergic to raw peaches (a lot of raw fruits actually), but if you’d like to save on time or keep the peaches more tart, feel free to keep them fresh/raw.

Coconut Oil: I used coconut oil for making my candied nuts, but you can also use butter or ghee. However I don’t recommend any other oil substitutes.

Pecans: If you don’t want to use pecans or would like a cheaper option, I would recommend using walnuts. Another options would be almonds. You can also buy your pecans already candied if you prefer or want to save a little time.

Sugar: I used white sugar, but feel free to replace it with another sugar such as coconut sugar, raw sugar or stevia.

Spring Mix: I recommend a leafy green mix for this salad such as spring mix, spinach or kale however feel free to substitute with another type of lettuce.

Tomatoes: I used petite cherry tomatoes because they were on sale but choose any type of petite tomatoes you’d like. The colorful ones would be great to add more color to the mix!

Goat Cheese: I used plain goat cheese but you can certainly use a flavored goat cheese or substitute with another cheese. Other cheeses I’d recommend are feta or gorgonzola.