Before you say, “Oh great, another salad” just hear me out.

What makes this salad unique is the mix up of different flavour groups. You’ve got apple, which is sweet and has a crunch–then you have goat cheese to balance is out which is soft and savoury. This salad is super fast, easy and yummy. You essentially toss everything in a bowl and eat it, but it just looks really nice as you do it.

The dressing is flexible in the sense that if you don’t have the exact ingredients, you can compromise. You can use regular balsamic and olive oil to create a similar dressing using the rest of the ingredients, but using avocado oil and white balsamic makes a unique flavour combo that the other ingredients might not offer.

As for the white balsamic vinegar, one of my friend’s moms got it for me as a gift (Thanks Michelle!) and she recommended the recipe that I used for the dressing. The only difference between them is that I used avocado oil instead of olive oil because I’ve been testing out lots of stuff with avocado lately and it’s delicious! I found that when comparing olive oil to avocado oil in taste, they are actually very similar.

Sidenote: I read As Always, Julia back in the summer and for anyone whose a foodie or interested in Julia Child or the history of cooking, it’s very interesting. It’s letters that have been compiled that were sent back and forth between her and her friend Avis. Give it a read!

Ingredients

Serves 4

For Salad:

• 4 cups fresh spinach, washed and patted dry
• 1 1/2 cups red apple, thinly sliced (plus some bigger slices to garnish)
• 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled

For Dressing:

• 1 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp. avocado oil
• Pinch salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 fresh basil leaves, minced

Method

To make dressing: In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together white balsamic, avocado oil, salt, pepper and fresh basil.

To make salad: In a large bowl, combine spinach, thin apple slices and goat cheese. Drizzle dressing evenly and toss until well coated. Garnish with extra apple slices and serve.