Summer salads are a “thing” at my house. Cool and light after a hot day, a salad is the perfect way to wind down the day and ease into a cool evening with a good book and a sweet pup.
Here is a beautiful (and delicious) Peach and Raspberry salad to add to your summer salad repertoire. It’s beauty will grab the attention of everyone who sits at your table.
Appearance is an important consideration in choosing the foods that we put on our tables. Food researchers tell us that our appetites are stimulated in significant ways by the appearance of our food. In other words, our eyes send signals to our brains that tell us certain foods like a pretty chocolate cake promise good taste—a brown shriveled banana…not so much.
So, if the food researchers are to be believed, right now your eyes are messaging your brain that the beautiful greens and reds and yellows in the Peach and Raspberry Salad photo that appears at the top of this page promises a delicious meal. You can’t help yourself.
The science of appetite arousal is not lost on the food industry either. They factor food appearance into just about every part of their operations—from packaging to lighting to the colors they choose to paint the walls of their public spaces. Have you ever wondered why, for instance, your food is usually served on a white plate? The answer is that the arrangement of food on a white plate makes the color of the food pop, not to mention the fact that a white plate messages your brain that the food is clean, safe to eat, and fresh.
Home cooks know this instinctively…or we should.
Dressed in a peachy vinaigrette, this Summer Peach and Raspberry Salad is a knock out. It hits all the right flavor notes, too.
Trust your eyes on this one.
Here’s the recipe. (If, after enjoying this salad, you find yourself in the summer salad “groove,” you can find other Blue Cayenne salad recipes here.)
Peach and Raspberry Salad With Peach Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- For the Salad
- Bitter Greens (Watercress or Baby Arugula)
- Radicchio
- Peaches (Sliced)
- Raspberries (lightly crushed with the back of a fork)
- Pistachios (roughly chopped)
- For the Peach Vinaigrette:
- 1 peach
- 3 T. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 T. apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 t. kosher salt
- 1/4 t. cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Toss sliced peach, raspberries, arugula (or watercress), and radicchio in a bowl.
- Step 2 To prepare the peach vinaigrette, combine the peach, olive oil, cider vinegar, salt, and cayenne pepper in a blender and blend until you have a smooth dressing.
- Step 3 Drizzle dressing over salad and toss. Garnish with coarsely-chopped pistachios.
This recipe was inspired by one in Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook Simple. You can buy his book on Amazon (here) or at your local bookstore.
