It’s National Peach Month, and I’m happy to celebrate it! Although Pumpkin Spice Lattes are coming back today and I know a lot of kids have gone back to school already, here in New York, it still definitely feels like summer – it’s supposed to be in the mid-90’s today! I like dinner salads in the summer, and I really like dinner salads with fruit! It’s also National Goat Cheese Month (who knew?) and this salad combines peaches, goat cheese, and chicken with a light vinaigrette for a cool, delicious, and easy dinner!
Chicken and Peach Salad with Goat Cheese – serves 2-4
9 oz. cooked chicken
1 bag butter lettuce
2 peaches
1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
1/4 cup peach balsamic vinegar (if you don’t have peach, white balsamic will work, but you might want to add a little sweetener and decrease the lime juice to 1/4 teaspoon)
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
Dice chicken and peaches into 1/4 inch chunks. You don’t need to peel the peaches – I am not always crazy about the fuzzy skin, but it didn’t bother me at all in this. If it does bother you, feel free to peel away (or use nectarines).
Combine vinegar, oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and whisk well. Here it is during the whisking process, and doesn’t it look yummy already?
Put lettuce, chicken and peaches in large salad bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss well. Top with goat cheese and enjoy!
A note about goat cheese: don’t let it scare you. I know I was scared of it for years – just the word “goat” kind of threw me off. It is a very mild, creamy, and downright delicious cheese, and it pairs wonderfully with any kind of fruit.
Hope you’re inspired to celebrate National Peach Month and the unofficial last week of summer with a dinner salad! I think I’m going to try to get a few more peach recipes in this week!