Grilled Peach Salad with Toasted Pecans, Feta Cheese and Champagne Vinaigrette marydukecooks.com

Caramelized peaches make this salad exceptional. Fresh summer peaches are lightly coated with sugar then grilled until the sugar caramelizes. The salad is perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the peaches, tartness of the dressing, saltiness of the cheese and crunch from the toasted pecans. Enjoy!

Grilled Peach Salad with Toasted Pecans, Feta Cheese and Champagne Vinaigrette

½ cup pecan halves
Champagne vinaigrette (recipe Below)
5 ounces spring mix
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
3-4 fresh peaches cut into 16 slices
Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake pecan halves 5 minutes until toasted. Remove from oven, lightly salt, and pour into a bowl to cool. Set Aside. Make Champagne Vinaigrette (recipe below). Toss salad with vinaigrette. Plate salad greens on 4 plates. Arrange pecans and feta cheese on top of salad. Set aside.

Press cut sides of each peach slice into a small bowl of sugar. Preheat grill pan to medium high. Place peach slices perpendicular to grill lines. Grill peaches until sugar has caramelized and peaches have grill marks. Place 4 peach slices on each salad. Makes 4 salads.

Champagne Vinaigrette

1 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 ½ tablespoons Champagne vinegar
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Place all ingredients in a mason jar and shake.

Published in The News and Neighbor on July 25, 2018