Peach Berry Summer Salad
A fresh summer salad loaded with fresh juicy peaches, tart plump blueberries, sweet pecans, salty feta cheese, crisp cucumbers and two types of lettuce, all topped with a homemade vinaigrette that is to die for.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 pint fresh blueberries
- 1-2 fresh peaches white flesh or any variety
- 1/2 english cucumber
- 1/2 cup feta crumbles
- 1/4 cup raw pecans chopped
- 1 head green leaf lettuce washed and torn
- 1 head Boston leaf lettuce washed and torn
Dressing
- 3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbs Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbs honey
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs fresh basil chiffoned
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a mason jar with a lid, add all of the dressing ingredients and shake to combine well. Or use a wire whisk to whisk ingredients together. Set aside.
- Wash and tear lettuce, removing any woody stems. Tear into equal size, bite sized pieces.
- Slice peaches and remove the pit
- Slice cucumber into rounds or half moons
- Rough chop pecans
- Crumble feta
- Assemble salad by topping the two lettuces with the other prepared ingredients.
- Dress salad just before serving.
Notes
- Wash and Dry Lettuce Thoroughly: A summer salad needs crisp, delicious lettuce, and you do not want to dilute your flavor by having watery lettuce. So wash and dry lettuce thoroughly before hand tearing it into bite sized pieces for your salad.
- Use Two Types of Lettuce for More Texture: For this salad I use a softer Boston lettuce, which has a butter flavor, and a crisper green leaf which has a mildly sweet and bitter flavor. It adds texture and flavor to your summer salad to use both varieties.
- Customize as Desired: This salad is amazing as is, but it can always be nice to toss in things like nectarine slices, mango chunks, raspberries or cut strawberries if you have them on hand. Summer salads are wonderful with fresh fruit, and you can customize this one to fit your preference or use up some of the things you have on hand. You can also add a protein of your choice like grilled chicken if you wish to make it a complete meal.
- Best Ingredients: To get the best result, use the best ingredients. Make sure your peaches are ripe, your blueberries too, that your pecans are not rancid, your cucumber and lettuce are crisp, and if you can, freshly crumble your feta for the best flavor. The better the starting and raw ingredients, the better the final result will be.
- Homemade is Key: The homemade dressing is the real show stopper here, so don't settle for a store-bought lemon vinaigrette, instead take the extra few minutes to whip up this dressing, it is worth it.
- Assemble Just Before Serving: Fresh is best, if you let your salad sit too long, it will get soggy and not be as good. Also, be sure to dress it just before serving, not beforehand. The lettuces and fruits are too delicate and you don't want them to break down and get soggy.