Time flies when you’re having fun…
…and also when you’re just plain busy. Where have the days gone? There’s been greater demand for my time at work recently, leaving not much motivation to work on a blog post in the evening. I’ve been squeezing in the bike rides and runs, too, so blogging has had to take a back seat during the last couple of weeks.
I promised to publish the last installment of my Taste of South America series a week ago, this time sharing my first–and hopefully not last–visit to Chile. I prepared the feature dish and was so excited to give you the recipe but organizing the travel pictures and outlining the post proved to be more work than I was willing to do after a long day. Truthfully, the desire to write was there but there’s not much you can do when your brain has shut down for the night. I’m still excited to share my Chile experience with you but I have decided to preempt that post with this salad because I don’t like to be absent here for too long.
But just because I offer this as a substitute post doesn’t mean this salad is second-rate; far from it. In fact, as soon as I had my first taste at lunch today I knew that this would have to be published immediately.
I built this salad around some fresh apricots I picked up at the farmers market on the coast recently. My original plan was to bake an apricot tart but I’m not the least bit disappointed that my first apricots of the season turned into this bright, festive salad instead. I planned to caramelize or grill the apricots, too, but in the end I chose to simply slice and serve them as-is.
I composed the salad with ingredients that I thought would complement the apricots: sweet candied pecans, crisp red onions, mildly-salty French Feta cheese, juicy mini heirloom tomatoes, fresh mint and peppery arugula. Each bite was like a party in my mouth thanks to the vinaigrette that brought everything together.
We’ve all had strawberry- or raspberry-flavored salad dressings, right? Why not apricot, I thought? I puréed three apricots with a few mint leaves and a bit of honey (I have tons of mint in my yard so I look for every excuse to use them) then whisked in some white balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
My, oh, my. I couldn’t get enough. The apricots and mint go so very well together and the balsamic vinegar adds just the right kick to make this salad pop.
Trust me…you won’t miss the apricot tart once you taste this salad but thank goodness there’s time enough in the season to enjoy both!
Arugula Salad with Apricot-Mint Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- For the Dressing makes about 1 cup:
- 3 apricots peeled and seed removed
- 6 - 7 fresh mint leaves
- 3 teaspoons honey
- 4 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or champagne or red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- For the Salad adjust amounts according to your liking:
- Fresh arugula about 1 cup per plate
- Apricots halved, seeded and sliced (about 1/2 to 1 apricot per plate)
- Mint leaves just a few per plate
- Small heirloom tomatoes halved (or cherry tomatoes; a few pieces per plate)
- Small cubes of French Feta or any Feta cheese you like; a few pieces per plate
- Thinly-sliced red onion
- Candied pecans homemade or store-bought; I used Trader Joe's
Instructions
-
To prepare the vinaigrette, purée the apricots and mint leaves in a small food processor with the honey. Transfer to bowl and add the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified and set aside.
-
To assemble the salad, arrange the ingredients on serving plates and top with the vinaigrette.
What a stunning salad! I absolutely love the board color. So fun hanging out yesterday with you – thank you for lunch and sharing your prop wisdom. Great post!!!
Lisa, it was great fun shopping for prop supplies with you. Looking forward to seeing you work your magic with the materials you purchased. Have a great week. 🙂
Your salad is absolutely gorgeous, Jean! I love the fresh apricots and your vinaigrette sounds divine. What a perfect combination of flavors!
beautiful salad and I love the colors of the photos, I can definitely see myself eating this salad really soon.
Never imagined that apricot and mint goes together very well. This is a must try. I haven’t had fresh apricot this year yet and I’m very intrigued after reading your post. I love your green color board. It’s been one of to do to make something like this but haven’t had a chance yet. Maybe this summer… we’ll see. My kids can help me? Um, maybe not a good idea. =P Very beautiful pictures and I had a hard time picking one for pinning. 🙂
Nami, I wasn’t sure that they would go well together but I was so happy I gave it a try. The mint really does complement the apricots in the dressing.
I bet your kiddies would have fun painting a board with you but if you want me to help you, just say the word. It would be fun! 🙂
The colors of this salad and in your photo styling are out of this world! I’m completely smitten and can’t wait to make it.
Gee, thanks, Toni! 🙂
Hi Jean! Stunning photos of such a beautiful salad. I love all the ingredients you’ve put in, indeed a party in the mouth. I’m glad those apricots went into a salad. It just captures the freshness of the fruit.
Hi Jean! The colors of your salad and the lovely staging in your photos are so striking and appealing. I have to try your arugula apricot salad- it sounds so good. I love fresh ripe apricots and try to get my fill during their too short of a season;-)
Patty, thanks! I still want to make an apricot tart but this ended up being a nice Plan B. 🙂
Jean, this salad is downright gorgeous. The candied pecans sound divine with the apricots and arugula. Beautiful photos.
This is a beautiful salad and your photos are so appetizing. Don’t you just love the peppery taste of arugula?
Absolutely LOVE this vinaigrette! And it sounds so perfect on this delicious salad.
That dressing sounds to-die for – what a great flavor combination!
Absolutely gorgeous summer salad complete with luminous photos. Buzz love to you! 🙂
Thanks so much for the buzz, Kelly! 🙂
A gorgeous salad! Really original and wonderfully seasonal. Lovely pictures.
Cheers,
Rosa
I can’t get over how stunning this salad is. The combination of flavors is just heavenly.
This is my kind of salad!! I love adding summer fruit to the tops of ’em!
There is absolutely nothing second-rate about this gorgeous salad! And the vinaigrette is just a delight….gorgeous summer salad!
I found this post though Pinterest. The photo was so beautiful that I just had to come here to read the recipe! Love it! And love your site :-).
I would like to invite you to share this post (and your other posts 🙂 ) on a new photo based recipe sharing site that launched in May. The idea is simple: all recipe photographs are published within minutes of submission. And, of course, the images link back to the author’s site.
It’s called RecipeNewZ (with Z) – http://recipenewz.com
I hope you get a chance to visit and to share some of your delicious posts with our viewers. It would be a pleasure to have you on board 🙂
This will be among the firsts that I will try as soon as I get to harvest our apricots. I can’t wait! I absolutely love salads like this. And the colors are stunning. Wonderful Jean!
Looking forward to those vacation pics! Nice salad which is perfect for the warm weather!
I love love this recipe Jean! I’m smiling at your words “party in my mouth” I can imagine. Can’t wait to see your next travel post but I’m glad you’ve also shared this beautiful seasonal salad. Going to give it a try this week.
i love the flavours and the colours of this salad! It makes me think of being seaside…in Martha’s Vineyard or the Hamptons or something! This is an easy summery lunch!
Hi Jean,
Okay I got here through FB, probably is me. I’m thinking of hanging it up myself. Not enough time in the day anymore. I’ve been working much more too. Isn’t the apricot and mint combo amazing? I wanted some more apricots, but they aren’t quite ready yet at the farm stand I frequent. I but that dressing and salty cheese make the salad pop. Can’t wait for our jam party.
-Gina-
Beautiful salad! I love the combination of flavor..bit sweet and peppery..just perfect! Loving your pics too!!!
Yum! This salad looks amazing, and the dressing sounds divine. Beautiful photos!
Those apricots look amazing. I don’t know if I’ve ever had an apricot dressing – but such a good idea. Especially on spicy arugula leaves.
It’s good to grab the apricots when you can this time of year. They are fleeting and nvever more beautiful than here! GREG
That apricot vinaigrette sounds fantastic, and I can never get enough fresh salads like this when it’s hot.
Oh, my beloved apricot!! We had an apricot tree when I was growing up and I’ve loved them as long as I can remember. Never had them in quite this way though and I’m absolutely intrigued.
I love using fresh fruit in salads and salad dressings – happen to have a box of apricots so giving this whirl!
the salad looks amazing Jean! So colorful, so summer-like! and the vinaigrette, mmmm
Waah, I want a green board 😉 But I want this salad more – especially since the last week included overindulging in all the things the French do best. Beautiful, fresh deliciousness, Jean!