Take a virtual trip to the French countryside with this French Salad. Also learn a shortcut to making French salad dressing.
I first had a salad similar to this at the Cheesecake Factory. I’ve ordered it many times. And just recently started making it at home. They call theirs a French Country Salad. French Salad is pretty to look at and delicious to eat. The combination of beets, cooked asparagus (which I prefer to cook in my air fryer), goat cheese, candied pecans and French vinaigrette works really well together. Add some cooked chicken breast to this salad and you have dinner.
How to make French salad dressing
If you’d like to know how to make a French vinaigrette from scratch, click here to check out this recipe. I didn’t have any vinegar or olive oil in the house, but I did have a bottle of this Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette in my refrigerator. So I made a cheater’s version of this classic dressing. I mixed in a little dijon mustard and black pepper with the prepared balsamic vinaigrette. It was delicious.
What course is salad in France?
I have visited France a couple of times in my life. Often they’ll serve a plain green salad with dinner and usually after the main course and before the cheese coarse and/or dessert. The purpose is to cleanse the palate. The fresh greens and acidic nature of the vinaigrette help to prepare you to truly enjoy your dessert. This makes a lot of sense to me.
What to serve with this French Salad
In keeping with the French inspiration of this salad, here’s a complete menu that’d be fun to serve at home. Watch a French inspired movie, like “An American in Paris”, “Amelie” or “Ratatouille” and you’ve got a really fun evening in with the family – or a date night.
Helpful Links
- I used this brand of sugared pecans
- How to make Air Fryer Asparagus
- Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette
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French Salad
Take a virtual trip to the French countryside with this French Salad. Also learn a shortcut to making French salad dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 bag spring mix salad
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 cup pickled sliced beets drained
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1/2 cup sugared pecans
- 1/2 cup French vinaigrette dressing
Instructions
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Cook the asparagus in an air fryer, or grill it.
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If making you're own vinaigrette as I described, mix about 1/2 cup of the Newman's Own balsamic vinaigrette with 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
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Divide the spring mix among four salad plates.
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Top each salad evenly with the cooked asparagus, beets, goat cheese and sugared pecans.
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Top each salad with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette dressing. Serve.
Erika says
All these flavors sound so good. I’ve never tried asparagus in my salad before, but I need to now.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
I am so bad at making salad!! But this one looks doable for me, thanks for the recipe! Bookmarked for later 🙂
foodtasticmom says
Great. I’m glad you are going to try it!
Ashley says
I love French Salad — and the dressing is so so good! Thanks for sharing!
foodtasticmom says
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.