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I've served this Blueberry Arugula Salad with Honey-Lemon Dressing several times lately and everyone seems to love it. I have a feeling you will too!
I've been making the super simple salad dressing just about forever. I almost always make it up fresh, since it takes less than five minutes to put together, and tastes best that way. I never measured the ingredients before, just made it as I went; one clove garlic, a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of salt, a drizzle of honey and olive oil and a grind of black pepper. Take a little taste, tweak it a bit till it's just right. I've had so many people ask for the recipe, I decided to measure and record, so here it is!
I've used this dressing with a zillion combination of ingredients. This time I had some beautiful baby arugula, plump, sweet blueberries and package of creamy goat cheese. I'd purchased a huge bag of sliced almonds at Costco and decided to add my Sweet Roasted Almonds to this Blueberry Arugula Salad with Honey-Lemon Dressing. The almonds are another super simple recipe that adds lots of pizzazz to any salad and also makes an extremely addictive snack.
I would suggest using today's recipe as template. I like to call it a "Little Black Dress Recipe". It's like the quintessential little black dress in the fashion world. You can dress it up or down, simple or fancy, it's always in style. Same with this salad; change the lettuce to bib or butter, baby spinach, field greens or whatever looks the prettiest and freshest at the market. Switch out the blueberries to whatever's in season - strawberries would be delicious or raspberries, peaches, plums or pears. Substitute Feta or Blue for the goat cheese and add some sliced red onion or diced bell pepper. The dressing will taste great with any of these and the almonds? Well, let's just say these buttery honey-glazed almonds are the pearl necklace or crème de la crème to any salad! Even these could be changed out for walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews ........... you name it!!
Of course with delicious blueberries just coming into season, you may want to keep this Blueberry Arugula Salad with Honey-Lemon Dressing exactly like it is. You'll have a winner, that's for sure!
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- For the dressing:
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice from ½ of a medium-size lemon
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- For the almonds:
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon melted butter
- ½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- For the salad:
- 5 ounces baby arugula
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
- 2-3 ounces goat cheese*
- ½ cup sweet almonds
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For the almonds, preheat oven to 350˚F.
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Place honey, butter, olive oil and almonds in a medium size oven-safe pan. Stir to combine and spread to an even layer.
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Bake for 8 minutes or until light golden brown, stirring after the first five minutes.
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Turn almonds out onto a sheet of parchment paper and spread out with a spatula. Cool completely, then store in a airtight container.
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For the dressing, combine lemon juice garlic and salt in a small bowl. Let sit for about 5 minutes. The lemon juice will soften and mellow the garlic, so be sure to let it sit for this short period.
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Add the honey and stir well. Add the olive oil in a slow drizzle, stirring continuously with a small whisk or fork. Taste and if it's too tart add a bit more honey and olive oil. If it's too bland, add a bit more lemon juice. Add freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
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For the salad, place arugula in a salad bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the dressing and toss to coat the leaves.
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Scatter the blueberries, goat cheese and almonds over the top. Serve immediately. Pass the extra dressing at the table
* The goat cheese is a wonderful addition to this salad however I often make it without and it's fabulous. So, if you don't have goat cheese or don't care for it, no problem, the salad will still be wonderful.
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