Fresh Summer Salad

I was recently asked to bring a salad to a party, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted a seasonal summer salad, but I couldn't find a recipe that had everything I wanted. My grandmother makes the best salads I have ever had, so I took some inspiration from her and made this salad, and it was a big hit. Everyone at the party loved it, so I thought I would share this recipe!

Ingredients:

Salad:

- 5 oz fresh baby arugula, washed

- 5 oz fresh baby spinach, washed

- 3 ripe white peaches

- 3 ripe yellow peaches

- 12 ripe figs, quartered

- 5 oz creamy goat cheese

- 3/4 cup pine nuts

- 1 1/3 cup basil leaves

Dressing:

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- 6 tablespoons balsamic reduction

- Half of a lemon, juiced

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

- Pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Toast the pine nuts for about 2 minutes in a small pan until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside in a small bowl.

2. Cut the peaches and figs, and place in separate Tupperware containers. Set aside.

3. For the basil leaves, I like to julienne them. To do this, you can grab a few leaves, and stack them on top of each other. Then, roll the stack of basil leaves into a cylindrical shape. From here, you can cut the cross section of the cylindrical shape to form neat strips of basil leaves. Set aside in a small bowl.

4. Whisk the olive oil, balsamic reduction, juice of half a lemon, minced garlic, maple syrup, and salt together until well combined. Set aside.

5. Place the arugula and spinach in a large salad bowl, and top with the toasted pine nuts. Place spoonfuls of goat cheese on top of this. If you are making this for a party, skip to Step 7 and ignore Step 6.

6. Layer the peaches, figs, and basil leaves on top of the spinach and arugula. Dress to your liking, and toss to coat. Serve as soon as possible.

7. If you plan on making this for a party, I would recommend not adding the fruits or dressing until you are about to eat. I would place a damp rag over the top of the salad bowl, and bring it along with Tupperware containers of the fruit and dressing to the party. Once you are about to eat, you can then refer to Step 6.