Author Notes
This recipe caught my eye on Vegetarian Times, so I happily decided to adapt this recipe and adjust some ingredients to make it my own little twist. The watercress was a perfect contrast to the sweet ripe summer nectarines and vinaigrette, of which I switched out from the original raspberry vinegar to a mix of my own using some homemade fig and strawberry jam & ACV (apple cider vinegar) + tarragon. And instead of pecans I used toasted hazelnuts; a greater "crunch" to my salad in my opinion. It was a HUGE hit at my family get together. —Stacy
Ingredients
- For the Salad:
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2 bunches
watercress, leaves and tender stems
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2
nectarines, thinly sliced in moon-shapes
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3/4-1 cups
cherry tomatoes, halved
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2
japanese (or persian) cucumbers, thinly sliced at a diagonal
-
1/4 cup
toasted hazelnuts
- For the Dressing:
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1/4
Fig-Strawberry vinegar (see below)
-
1
shallot, thinly sliced in rings
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1
overly riped nectarine, peeled and diced
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2 tablespoons
olive oil or grapeseed oil
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1/2 teaspoon
sea salt
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1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Directions
-
For the Fig-Strawberry Vinegar: 1 teaspoon of fig-strawberry jam, 1-2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar/sherry vinegar, dash of rice wine vinegar.
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For the dressing: Pour fig-strawberry vinegar over shallots. Let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. Place the rest of the ingredients into a food processor to blend. Once vinegar-shallot is done, add the vinegar reserving the shallots. Season with salt and pepper to desired taste.
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Toast hazelnuts: In a dry pan toast on low-medium until slightly blistered. Put on a tea towel and roll until skin comes off. Roughly chop. Reserve to top the salad.
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For the salad: Toss all salad ingredients together into a large bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette to coat, add reserved shallots (if desired), and toasted hazelnuts before serving.
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