Mixed Baby Greens with Herb Crusted Chevre’ and Orange Vinaigrette
What you’ll need:
For the dressing:
1 ½ cups fresh orange juice
1 shallot, finely minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup canola oil
½ teaspoon orange zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the cheese rounds:
2 7 ounce logs of goat cheese or creamy Chevre’
4 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh lemon or regular thyme
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
4 teaspoons snipped fresh chives
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
6 to 8 ounces mixed small garden lettuces or mescaline
1 can Mandarin orange slices, drained
Thinly sliced red onion
Coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
Steps:
For the dressing:
Mix all ingredients together in a shaker jar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let the mixture set for at least one hour. Refrigerate if not using within an hour.
For the cheese rounds:
- Combine the chopped herbs and pepper together and place on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Spread it out to about the width of the cheese log.
- Roll the cheese firmly over the herbs so that the entire round is covered with herbs. Repeat with the second round.
- Cover logs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
- Slice the chilled cheeses into ½ inch thick slices when ready to serve. Using dental floss makes this job easy!
To Prepare the Salad:
- Wash the greens and spin dry or dry with tea towel, roll up and refrigerate to crisp.
- When ready to serve, place salad into a bowl and pour the desired amount of dressing over the salad. Just make it glisten.
- Individually plate each salad, add a few red onion slices, mandarin orange slices and two herbed goad cheese rounds to each plate. Top with toasted hazelnuts that have been coarsely chopped.
Serve immediately.
