French-Inspired Arugula And Chèvre Salad Recipe
It is easy to get stuck in a rut with your salads. Every night, it seems the side dish is a handful of greens, the same vinaigrette you've been making for years, and a few run-of-the-mill accoutrements. Why not mix things up and try something with a little Parisian flair? It is amazing how little effort it takes to make this French-inspired arugula salad that is overflowing with a harmonious melange of complementary flavors and textures.
The base of the salad is baby arugula, tender and mild with just a hint of peppery kick. To dress the greens, we make a quick rosemary red wine vinaigrette in the blender, bringing a strong herbal aroma to every single bite. As for the toppings, we have sweet sliced plums, tangy, creamy chèvre, and nutty crunchy toasted almonds. It takes just a few minutes to put it all together, and each ingredient complements the rest beautifully, creating a balanced and cohesive salad that might just have you prioritizing that often-neglected part of your dinner plate.
Gather the salad ingredients
For the dressing in this recipe, you will need olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, fresh rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. For the salad itself, you will need baby arugula, toasted sliced almonds, crumbled chèvre, and sliced plums. Once you have these ingredients together, you are only a few minutes away from a delicious salad.
Step 1: Start the dressing
Add all of the dressing ingredients to a blender.
Step 2: Blend the dressing
Puree the dressing until it's emulsified and uniform in texture.
Step 3: Dress the greens
Place the arugula in a salad bowl, add around two-thirds of the dressing, reserving some for diners to add to their salad if they desire, and toss to coat the greens.
Step 4: Divide and garnish
Divide the salad into individual servings, top with the plums, chèvre, and almonds.
Step 5: Serve
Serve the salads.
What can I serve with arugula salad?
French-Inspired Arugula and Chèvre Salad Recipe
Peppery arugula, sliced plums, tangy creamy chèvre, and nutty crunchy toasted almonds come together with a herby vinaigrete in our French-inspired salad.
Ingredients
- For the dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- For the salad
- 4 cups baby arugula
- 2 plums, thinly sliced
- 4 ounces chèvre, crumbled
- ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
Directions
- Add all of the dressing ingredients to a blender.
- Puree the dressing until it's emulsified and uniform in texture.
- Place the arugula in a salad bowl, add around two-thirds of the dressing, reserving some for diners to add to their salad if they desire, and toss to coat the greens.
- Divide the salad into individual servings, top with the plums, chèvre, and almonds.
- Serve the salad.
Can I substitute another type of nut for the almonds in this salad recipe?
The delicate slices of almond in this salad, toasted to bring out the full aroma of the nut, intertwine beautifully with the sweet, tangy, and herbal flavor medley brought by the other ingredients. But there are many types of nuts out there, and if you aren't an almond fan, there are a few options that would also fit quite well in this recipe.
The potential substitute nuts for this salad are pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts. The sliced plums are, in many ways, the center of the salad. The rosemary in the dressing, the tangy goat cheese, and the toasted nuts are all there to work in concert with the sweetness of the plums. And these three nuts all also pair perfectly with plums.
Pecans and walnuts are both already delicate enough in texture to fit right into the space left by removing the sliced almonds. If you opt for hazelnuts, you might want to choose a chopped variety, for ease of eating. And with all three options — and with any nuts you use in a recipe, really — you want to toast the nuts on the stovetop before sprinkling them over your salad to unlock all of their flavor.
How can I turn this arugula salad recipe into a full meal?
As soon as you have your first bite of this salad, not only will you likely bookmark the recipe for the future, but you'll probably also start wondering how you can make it your whole dinner, not just a delicious side dish. Fortunately, the wide array of flavors in the salad means that there are plenty of complementary ingredients that you can add to make it a bit heartier. The first step to making this salad into a full meal is to divide it into fewer portions. This recipe makes four side-salad-sized servings, or about two dinner-sized salads. If you're cooking dinner for the whole family, just double the recipe to make four large servings.
Aside from portion size, you might also want to fill the recipe out with a bit of protein and starch. The rosemary in the vinaigrette is a beautiful complement to the sliced plums, so a few slices or cubes of rosemary roast chicken would fit the bill perfectly. If fish is your preferred salad-topper, rosemary-infused compound butter on salmon would also be wonderful.
As for the starch, well, a handful of homemade baked croutons doesn't just make this salad more filling, it also adds another crunchy textural element. Or, if that's too much work, a nice baguette with butter on the side will fill you up and give you a vessel to soak up every last drop of rosemary vinaigrette on your plate.