A sweet and savory peach basil salad filled with everything good about summer on a plate.
Summer days are salad days. Salads are an easy staple that come together in a hurry with minimal fuss, not to mention that they’re the perfect vehicle for enjoying all sorts of seasonal produce. And with all the fresh fruits and vegetables making their way into the markets at the moment, there’s certainly no shortage of choice when it comes to what to put into one.
Cool, easy, crunchy, it’s just the thing on a hot, sticky day. Suffice it to say, I’ll be eating my fair share of them for the next few months.
This particular peach basil salad is another sweet and savory affair (one of my favorite salad combinations). The basic formula here boils down to a bed of greens, thrown together with a vegetable, some fruit, some kind of nut for crunch, a little cheese for creaminess that's tossed with a fresh basil vinaigrette.
What you get is a lively combination of tastes and textures that’s fresh and oh-so-satisfying.
How to Make a Peach Basil Salad:
You start by quickly blanching some green beans to which you add a heap of mache lettuce.
To that you add in colorful assortment of peaches and cherries sliced thinly along with a smattering of pistachios for nuttiness and goat cheese for both creaminess and tang.
A bright green basil vinaigrette then ties everything together.
Of course a summer salad like this is only as good as the ingredients that go in it so make sure to get the freshest you can. The peaches should be sweet and juicy but not overly ripe, the cherries plump but firm and the green beans should be slender and have a nice snap to them.
This colorful peach basil salad is everything that’s good about summer on a plate. Here’s to salad days!
More Summer Salads:
Peach Basil Salad
A sweet and savory peach basil salad filled with everything good about summer on a plate.
Ingredients
- ½ cup packed basil leaves
- 3 Tablespoons/45ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons/30ml Champagne or white wine vinegar
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ lb. haricots verts (thin French green beans), ends trimmed
- 3 oz/ 85g mache lettuce
- 2 small ripe but firm yellow peaches, sliced
- ½ lb cherries, pitted and sliced in half
- 2 Tablespoons/14g pistachios, coarsely chopped
- 2 oz/56 g goat cheese bucheron, cut into thin slices
Instructions
- In a small food processor, add the basil, oil and vinegar and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
- Bring a medium pan of salted water to a boil; add green beans and cook until just tender (about 2 minutes). Transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain and lightly pat dry.
- In a large bowl, toss together the basil vinaigrette with the mache, green beans, peaches and cherries until well combined. Top with chopped pistachios and goat cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
For Vegan and Paleo omit goat cheese
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 279Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 115mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 4g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Steph @ Steph in Thyme says
I love sweet and savory combinations. The peach and goat cheese combo sounds so lovely!
Matt @ Plating Pixels says
Those ingredients would make such fresh and rich salad! Love the photography, the styling and lighting is gorgeous.
Becca @ Crumbs and Chaos says
I adore fruit in a salad!! I could definitely eat this all summer long 🙂
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
That basil vinaigrette is calling my name! And I love stone fruit in salad. Adds just the right amount of sweet and tart.
Carol Borchardt says
This combination is truly inspired and really lovely for summer. Our green beans are starting to produce like crazy so I look forward to trying this soon!
Christina @ Christina's Cucina says
OMG, you've got goat cheese on that salad, so that means I'd LOVE it! It truly does look lovely and fresh and perfect for summer!
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
I always adore a sweet/savory combo in salad. This is such a lovely way to use summer's bountiful produce. Lovely!
Rina Rosenberg says
The salad is fantastic! Of course I had to make small changes based on what I had in the house: slivers of almonds rather than pistachios; white "Arab" cheese and not goat cheese; romaine lettuce rather than
mache. However, you are so right that the basil vinaigrette ties everything together. Highly highly recommended! YUMMY! Thanks again Sylvie.
Sylvie says
You're welcome, glad you liked it!
Laura @ Family Spice says
I am so happy that summer is here and we can enjoy such glorious produce. What a beautiful salad.
Cynthia/What A Girl Eats says
This salad looks delis! I love fruit and cheese in my salads!