This holiday salad is a stunner! Start with a bed of baby kale or arugula, add in some roasted beets, Fuyu persimmons, creamy avocado, panko-crusted goat cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts, and pomegranate seeds. Top it all off with a refreshing citrus honey vinaigrette featuring fresh mint.
Persimmon Salad with Fried Goat Cheese
Ingredients
Goat Cheese:
- 8 oz or 2 4 oz logs of goat cheese
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt + a pinch of pepper
- 2 egg whites + 2 tbsp water
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Cooking oil
Salad:
- 5 oz 1 box baby kale or arugula
- 2 Fuyu persimmons thinly sliced
- 3 small beets steamed or roasted and sliced
- 1 large avocado sliced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts toasted
- Fried goat cheese
Vinaigrette:
- 3 tbsp orange juice + 1/4 tsp zest
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice + 1/4 tsp zest
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon optional
- 1 tbsp fresh mint finely chopped
Instructions
- For the goat cheese, create an assembly line with three bowls. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in one, egg whites and water in another, and panko in the third.
- Slice goat cheese into rounds, coat in flour, dip in egg, then coat with breadcrumbs. Repeat for a double coating. For best results, freeze the breaded medallions for 30 minutes.
- Heat a skillet over medium, add ~2 tbsp oil, and sear the goat cheese rounds for ~90 seconds on each side until crispy and golden brown.
- Whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients.
- Assemble the salad on a platter or in a bowl, toss gently with the vinaigrette, and enjoy this delightful dish!