Spinach & Arugula Salad with Nectarines and Chicken

It's stone fruit season here in California. Over the last few weeks we have been getting nectarines at our farmer's market and enjoying them whole and cut up in yogurt for lunch. We came home to some nectarines that were approaching over ripeness. So I got online to see what I could find about ways to incorporate nectarines into our dinner.

I found this salad as a starting point but I had to adapt it to what we had in the fridge. This recipe is pretty flexible and forgiving. You can substitute or try new ingredients which is exactly what I did.

Here's how it unfolded:

We had both arugula and spinach so I combined them for the salad. But if you could do this recipe with either or try some lettuce.

The online recipe called for blue cheese. We didn't have any but I substituted some shredded salty Manchego because that's what we had. I can imagine using crumbles of blue or Gorgonzola cheese or even goat cheese. But, you need a strong, salty cheese to counter the sweetness of the nectarine.

The original recipe also called for toasted pine nuts. In the interest of time, I skipped this step but I can imagine how a salty, crunchy nut would add some texture (and protein) to the salad. One could use chopped peanuts, cashews, or walnuts.

The original recipe did not include any chicken. But I went ahead and lightly browned some Tofurky Chick'n that I had described in an earlier post to top the salad in order to add that toothy component that meat provides. The Tofurky product is a really good chicken substitute. But if you eat meat, I can imagine pulling some shredded chunks from a supermarket rotisserie chicken on top. The warm meat (or "meat") is a nice contrast to refrigerator cold produce in the rest of the recipe.

The raspberry vinegar is also something you might not have in your pantry. I happened to have some because of a gift from a friend who lives in Sonoma County near Kozlowski Farms. But, if need be, you can use your red wine vinegar.

Be creative!

Serves 2. 

Ingredients:

• Raspberry vinegar, 2 tablespoons
• Sugar, 1 teaspoon
• Olive oil, 3 tablespoons
• Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon
• Black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt, 1 large pinch
• Arugula or spinach, 4 cups (about 2-3 small handfuls of each)
• Nectarines, 2, each sliced into 8 sections
• Blue cheese, 4 oz.
• Rotisserie chicken, 1-2 cups shredded meat (if using Chick'n: about 4 oz. lightly browned in a small skillet).

Directions:

• In a small bowl combine the first six ingredients. Whisk together until well blended
• Place the arugula/spinach in a large bowl
• Prep the cheese and lightly brown the chicken in a skillet
• Pour the dressing over the greens and toss to coat (the greens will wilt once the dressing is on them).
• Add the cheese and toss to coat
• Plate the salad and top with nectarine slices and chicken