Peach and Prosciutto Salad with Goat Cheese

Creamy, salty, sharp, and sweet; this Peach and Prosciutto Salad is the only thing you need to eat this summer.

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If you haven’t been able to tell yet, I freaking LOVE peach season, and find any possible way that I can to add them to any and every dish I can think of.

This Peach and Prosciutto Salad is a total stunner of a salad that can be altered to fit your tastes and is somehow greater than the sum of it’s (already pretty awesome) parts.

Ripe, juicy peaches are sauteed until browned and caramelized, and then go on top of greens that have been lightly dressed with a light but sharp homemade vinaigrette.  Pieces of crispy prosciutto are layered in and then the whole thing is topped with creamy goat cheese and crunchy homemade croutons. 

Shopping List for Peach and Prosciutto Salad with Goat Cheese

• Peaches

• Prosciutto

• Spring Mix

• Goat Cheese

• Sherry Vinegar

• Dijon Mustard

• Chives

• Olive Oil

• Salt and Pepper

A Little Bit about Prosciutto

Prosciutto is often lumped in with bacon and pancetta but is actually quite different from both.  Bacon and pancetta are both technically pork belly, while prosciutto is made from the hind legs of pigs. 

While bacon and pancetta are both cured (and then smoked, for the bacon) they are both considered “raw” meats and need to be cooked before eating. 

Prosciutto is salt cured in a process that can take anywhere from months to years, and is then thinly sliced and safe to eat as is, which is how it’s usually consumed.  It’s technically “uncooked”, although it’s not considered raw.

This recipe does call for cooking the prosciutto, which crisps it up like bacon and adds texture and crunch to the salad.

Tips for Making your very best Peach and Prosciutto Salad

• The dressing can be prepared ahead of time if you’d like but it takes less than a minute to make so if you don’t have time to prepare ahead, it wont add much to your prep time.  Dressing can be made 3 days ahead and stored, covered in the fridge.

• You can prepare the individual ingredients for the salad and then take it to assemble for an amazing work lunch that all your co-workers will be jealous of!

• If you try to dress everything in one bowl and then toss it all together, most of the toppings will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Instead, lightly dress the greens on their own and in a separate bowl dress the remaining ingredients, then combine. 

What Makes Peach and Prosciutto Salad Awesome?

• It’s incredibly customizable.

• It’s a total weeknight dinner – it can be ready in under 15 minutes.

• You could do all of the cooking on a grill and not have to turn your stove on during the dead of summer.

• It’s healthy and full of real, clean ingredients.

Substitutions and alterations:

Vinegar – I use Sherry vinegar here for the dressing, but that can be a little difficult to find so feel free to use a white wine vinegar or balsamic in its place. 

Chives – chives are great here, but feel free to use your favorite fresh herbs.  Mint, thyme or basil would be awesome in this dressing.

Peaches – you could sub any large stone fruit.  Nectarines would be great here, as would plums or apricots.

Prosciutto – as outlined above, prosciutto is very different from either bacon or pancetta, but either one could be used here.  Prosciutto is expensive and can be hard to find.  Just keep in mind that you’ll end up with a very different (but still delicious) flavor profile if you substitute. 

Goat Cheese – you could use any soft white cheese here.  Feta would be delicious.  Burrata or fresh mozzarella would work great too.

You could add chicken to this dish to round it out for a heartier dinner.  You could take the prosciutto away and make this vegetarian.   If you did that, I would maybe add some fried halloumi cheese or pan-fried tofu to round it out a bit.

You could add cherries or raspberries to the salad for a little extra berry kick that would out of this world.

There’s a reason I love salads so much!

Yield

2 Large Salads

Author

Sara Rauckhorst

Prep time

5 Min

Cook time

15 Min

Total time

20 Min

Print

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Peach and Prosciutto Salad with Goat Cheese

Creamy, salty, sharp, and sweet; this Peach and Prosciutto Salad is the only thing you need to eat this summer.

Ingredients

Peach and Prosciutto Salad with Goat Cheese

• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper
• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• 2 small to medium peaches, pitted and thickly sliced
• 5 ounces greens (spinach, arugula, spring mix)
• 4 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Optional Croutons

• 4 ounces French bread torn into bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

To Make Peach and Prosciutto Salad with Goat Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 300
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, Dijon, honey and chives.  While whisking, slowly drizzle in ¼ cup of olive oil and continue to whisk until the dressing becomes emulsified. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
3. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the prosciutto for 2-3 minutes per side until crispy.  This will most likely have to be done in batches.  Remove the cooked prosciutto to a plate and set aside.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet, and add the peaches.  Cook one to two minutes per side, working in batches if necessary.  You want a lightly browned exterior, and for the peaches to retain their shape.
5. In a large bowl, toss the greens with ¼ cup of the dressing, and in a separate bowl dress the peaches and prosciutto with 3 tablespoons of dressing. 
6. Divide the greens among two plates and top with the peaches and prosciutto.  Add the crumbled goat cheese, and enjoy!

To Make Optional Croutons

1. Preheat oven to 300 and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. 
2. Toss the torn bread with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until croutons are dried and crunchy.

Notes:

Croutons can be made ahead and stored for up to a week in the fridge.

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