Strawberry Mango Salad with Pomegranate Shallot Vinaigrette

Summer is also a great time to find fresh fruit, and if you haven’t yet ventured into combining greens with fruits, nuts, and cheese, you should give it a try! Veggie salads are tasty, but fruit and veggie salads are juicy, delectable, crave-worthy treats. For this salad, I use strawberries, mango, toasted pecans, and chévre, with a pomegranate shallot vinaigrette. The result is a sweet, creamy, crunchy salad with accents of bitter greens and a delicate onion flavor from the shallots.

Ingredients:
strawberries
mango
mesclun (also known as spring greens)
pecans, chopped and toasted
chévre
fresh ground pepper

Dressing Ingredients:
pure pomegranate juice
extra virgin olive oil
shallot
salt and pepper

Guidelines:

For the dressing, combine equal parts pure pomegranate juice and extra virgin olive oil. Finely dice about ½ tsp. shallots for every ¼ cup of dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk well.

For the salad, use the ingredients in whatever amount you like. For my salad, which fed two as a side salad, but could easily feed 3-4, I used about 6 strawberries, quartered, 1 mango, diced, a medium salad bowl filled ¾ full of mesclun (4-5 cups would be my best guess), ¼ cup toasted pecans, and about 1 ounce of chévre, crumbled.

Add all salad ingredients in salad bowl, along with fresh ground pepper, if desired, and pour dressing over top. I refrain from tossing, as the ingredients are delicate.