Summertime Blackberry Goat Cheese Salad

Anniversaries are the best…a special time with your significant other to reflect on your time together and the future together. Brendan and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary with an incredible meal on our back porch, nothing more I’d ever want. He cooked the ENTIRE meal and all of the ingredients were locally grown/sourced (let’s just say he knows the key to my heart).

We had grass-fed NY strip steak, broiled lobster tail, truffled mashed potatoes topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms, and an incredibly fresh and delicious kale, blackberry, tomato, cucumber, and parmesan goat cheese salad. Every single ingredient was from our local Farmer’s Market (all except for the lobster and potatoes) making this meal even better than imaginable. Each bite was fresh, flavorful, and healthy.

Why go to a nice restaurant when you can have this perfect meal at home?!? My mind was blown when he made this meal for us. I didn’t want the meal to end it was so dang good! The pairings were perfect…I told him I’d be his biggest fan if he were to open a restaurant. 😉

I paired my meal with some Turley wine, an incredibly smooth Zinfandel that paired perfectly, a gift from our good friends’ wedding. I don’t think any meal could top this…we’ll see what he cooks up for me next year!

Wanna make this blackberry and goat cheese salad?

It’s the perfect summer accompaniment to any meal. Try to get the ingredients local and fresh, it truly makes a difference!

Blackberry Goat Cheese Kale Salad

Print Recipe

This fresh, summery salad pairs perfectly with almost any accompaniment! The best healthy side dish for a summer barbecue, porch dinner, or quick weeknight meal.

• Author: Caroline Waters
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 10 mins
• Yield: 2-3 1x
• Category: Salad

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 cups fresh kale
• 1/4 cup blackberries
• 2 TBSP goat cheese
• 1 medium cucumber, chopped
• 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
• handful micro greens
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• sea salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 TBSP balsamic reduction

Instructions

1. In a medium sized bowl, add washed kale and massage kale with olive oil.
2. Chop cucumber and tomatoes into small pieces, add to bowl with kale.
3. Add blackberries, crumbled goat cheese, and micro greens.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Drizzle with balsamic and serve!

Cheers to summertime and being with the ones you love most!

How are you all spending your summer? I’m excited to start a new job this upcoming Monday, with Carolina Nutrition Consultants. I couldn’t be happier! I’ll be working with long term care facilities as well as in-office nutrition counseling, marketing, education, outreach, etc. So happy to be settled here in Columbia!