Grilled Peaches & Cinnamon Roasted Almond Salad

Salads find their way on our dinner plates more nights than not. It's so easy to throw together some baby greens with creative ingredients for a flavorful and fresh side dish. I picked up some peaches at the market this week that were on sale and instead of reserving them for Greek yogurt and protein smoothies in the morning, I set one aside for a baby greens salad. Grilling fruit is one of my new favorite things and it doesn't have to be grilling season to enjoy it. I just heat up my grill pan and leave the fruit on the heat for a sweet and tasty bite. I paired this salad with a simple oven baked Cajun salmon and a glass of wine.

Grilled Peach & Cinnamon Roasted Almond Salad

(serves 2)

Salad:

Mixed baby greens, about 4 cups

1 peach, cut in quarters

Handful raw almonds

A few shakes of cinnamon

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 yellow onion, thinly sliced

Champagne Vinaigrette:

4 Tbsp. olive oil

4 Tbsp. champagne or white balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. raw honey

pinch of salt to taste

cracked pepper

Mix all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl, minus the peaches and almonds.

To grill the peaches, heat grill pan on medium-high heat. Grill for 10 minutes on each side, or until the sugars of the peach start to caramelize and nice grill marks appear.

While the peaches are grilling, pour a quick drizzle of olive oil into a small pan with the almonds. Toast on medium heat for about 5 minutes, adding some cinnamon at the very end. When the almonds have cooled, give them a rough chop.

To dress the salad, whisk all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Just before serving, drizzle over greens mixture and top with two peach quarters and a sprinkle of toasted almonds. Goat cheese would be an excellent addition to this salad.