You’ll love this arugula and cherry salad! With its spicy greens, sweet cherries, and salty feta cheese, this is a salad packed with big flavors. Double the recipe, because you’re sure to want a second helping!
The dressing for this salad is based on a vinaigrette dressing by Amanda Hesser of Food 52 and the author of Cooking for Mr. Latte (IndieBound).
While garlic and anchovies are essential components of the vinaigrette and add scrumptious flavor, I use a light hand. You only need a small amount of these ingredients to get big flavor. If you love garlic and anchovy, embrace your wild side and add extra.
This recipe makes two large salad servings and about 2/3 cup of vinaigrette (more than you need for both salads).
Ingredients
You need the following ingredients to make this arugula and cherry salad with French vinaigrette.
Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1/3 teaspoon anchovy paste or 1 small anchovy fillet
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Salad Ingredients
- 4 cups arugula
- 4 cups lettuce, such as baby crispy greens or Bibb lettuce
- 12 – 15 Bing cherries, cut in half vertically (stem to bottom) and pitted
- 1/3 cup feta cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)
Directions
Make the vinaigrette.
Add the garlic, anchovy paste, and salt together in the bowl of a mortar and mash them together with the pestle to make a paste. Whisk in the mustard, then the lemon juice. Transfer the contents to a small bowl. Slowly pour the oil into the bowl, whisking it into the other ingredients. Add a little fresh pepper. Set the vinaigrette aside while you make the salad.
Add the arugula and lettuce to a salad bowl and toss the greens together. Sprinkle the cherries and feta cheese on top. If you’re using pine nuts, sprinkle those on too.
Just before serving the salad, add about half of the dressing to the bowl and toss the salad. Taste a lettuce leaf and add more dressing if needed.
Enjoy!
Related Posts
Here are some other salads to enjoy.