Grape Avocado and Arugula Salad

Somehow, I kind of forgot about grapes. Like, I basically spaced off that they existed for about a year. I just kind of forgot about them. They never crossed my mind when planning ingredients for a big salad. They never made it into my shopping bag. I’m pretty sure they never made it into my mouth for nearly a year, save for (ahem) a few glasses of wine.

How did I forget about grapes?!? Please tell me I’m not the only one who completely spaced off the existence of a delightful food for awhile. (And even if not, you can just pretend so I don’t feel crazy.) Anyway, big dramatic grape story aside, you can probably guess that this wave of fruit amnesia finally lifted and this story had a happy ending when my eyes landed on a beautiful bunch of red seedless grapes at the store a few weeks ago. And something clicked and I finally saw them. And then immediately started craving their sweet, crisp, pop-able, grapey goodness. And then this beautiful salad happened when I came home with — oh — about 5 pounds of grapes. You know, to make up for lost time. With me. And the grapes. And let me tell you, it was grape-a-licious.

    I feel like salad photos are always a bit like Where’s Waldo puzzles for me. I always want to play detective and see if I can spot the red and white hat ingredients before they’re listed. Can you see them all?

    Well, let’s just dive into it. Because they make for a heck of a yummy combination when tossed together to make a salad.

    Ingredients:

    SALAD INGREDIENTS:

  • 6 cups fresh arugula, loosely packed
  • 2 cups halved seedless grapes, red or green or a mix
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
  • 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
  • half a small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • balsamic vinaigrette (ingredients below)

    • WHITE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or traditional balsamic vinegar)
  • 2 Tablespoons honey or agave nectar, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

    • Instructions

    TO MAKE THE SALAD:

  • Add salad ingredients to a bowl, and drizzle with vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

    • TO MAKE THE VINAIGRETTE:

  • Whisk all ingredients together for 30 seconds until combined.



    • Recipe by Stephanie.