Arugula Salad with Grilled Peaches, Crisp Pancetta, Goat Cheese, and Pine Nuts Recipe

Servings: 4

This salad has a lot of contrasting and complementary flavors and each bite is a little bit different from the others.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. thin pancetta slices
• 2 large peaches, cut in half, pits removed (if using cling peaches, cut in half around the pits)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 8 cups small arugula leaves, cleaned and dried. Tear into smaller pieces if leaves are large.
• 1 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

For the vinaigrette:

• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 very ripe peach, diced
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300o F and preheat the grill to medium-high.
2. Place pancetta on a baking pan and bake in oven until crisp.
3. Remove pancetta from pan and drain on paper towels.
4. Toss the peaches in the olive oil to coat and place them on the hot grill, flesh side down.
5. Let cook for a few minutes undisturbed, until there are good grill marks, and then gently turn over.
6. Cook the other side of the peaches for another few minutes until the grill marks are prominent.
7. Remove the peaches from the grill and set aside.
8. For the vinaigrette, place everything except the olive oil in the cup of a blender.
9. Turn the blender on and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until it is incorporated.
10. Adjust seasoning as needed.
11. Place the arugula and pine nuts in a large salad bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat evenly.
12. Divide the arugula among the plates and top with the goat cheese, pancetta and grilled peaches.
13. Top the salads with a touch of fresh ground black pepper.