This simple arugula salad is the kind of dish I wish could come out of my kitchen every Friday night: easy, healthy, a family hit that uses uses up my fridges leftovers from the week.
I created this salad on a said magical Friday night last fall. Exhausted from the work week, I wanted a salad to go with our pizza that would have texture and flavor not being chore to put together.
I dug through my cupboards and fridge looking for tastes and textures that could balance each other out: sweet and salty, peppery and tangy, chewy and leafy.
Next, due to my fatigue, I stumbled upon the most simple but complementary salad dressing. With the brine and salt in the cheese, there’s no need to complicate this salad dressing any further. Just whisk the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and you’re good to go.
A few bites in, I knew I had a salad to not just make Friday nights, but any night of the week, magical.
Cooking notes:
- Just like any fine leaf salad, you’ll want to toss together the arugula, apricots, and cheese together but wait to dress it until right before serving.
- Something about the gumminess of apricots makes them so annoying to cut so I started cutting them up with my herb kitchen shears. It’s so convenient, I just cut them right over the greens.
- Since arugula is such a fine leaf, I find the quarter cup dressing in this recipe is more enough to lightly dress all the leaves. If you like your dressing heavier, however, feel free to add extra oil and vinegar by the teaspoon and toss until it’s covered to your liking.
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