Arugula Salad with Roasted Grapes, Goat Cheese, and Candied Hazelnuts
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2 or 3
 
Ingredients
For the salad:
  • 6 oz. arugula
  • 2 oz. candied hazelnuts (generous ½ cup)
  • 3½ oz (about ¾ cup) grapes, roasted with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper
  • about 2 oz. mild fresh goat cheese
For the dressing:
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. champagne vinegar or other mild vinegar such as white wine vinegar
  • ¼ tsp. salt (flaked salt is especially good here)
  • a few grinds of black pepper
Instructions
To roast the grapes:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Put the grapes in a bowl and drizzle them with a teaspoon or so of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, mix.
  3. Cover a baking pan with parchment paper.
  4. Place the grapes on the baking pan and roast for about 20 minutes, until the grapes are slightly softened and wrinkled.
  5. To candy the hazelnuts (note, this is a larger quantity than needed for this recipe but I like to have them on hand):
  6. Place ½ lb. of hazelnuts in a bowl, mix with 2 Tbsp. honey. Heat the honey slightly in a microwave so it will be easy to mix it with the hazelnuts. Or just mix all into a big sticky pile of hazelnuts, put in the oven, wait for the oven heat to work on the honey a bit and then spread the hazelnuts out a little more on the pan.
  7. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  8. Spread the hazelnuts on the baking sheet.
  9. Roast in 375 degree oven for about ten minutes. Be careful not to overcook and burn them.
  10. As soon as the hazelnuts are out of the oven, toss them in a bowl with 2 or 3 Tbsp. of demerara sugar and ¼ tsp. of flaked salt, then spread them out to cool.
To dress and assemble the salad:
  1. Toss the arugula in a large bowl with the olive oil, vinegar, and salt.
  2. Arrange the greens on dinner plates.
  3. Add the grapes and hazelnuts.
  4. Crumble the goat cheese on top of the salad.
Recipe by Fit and Fed at http://fitandfed.net/2014/09/06/arugula-salad-with-roasted-grapes-goat-cheese-and-candied-hazelnuts/