I think that friends who have been reading my blog are beginning to grow concerned about my health. After all, it would appear from my latest posts that I have been living on a steady diet of butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, and chocolate. Never fear, I cook far more than I post and I’ve been spreading warm, buttery love to the thighs of friends, relatives, and colleagues near and far. In the midst of this flurry of holiday baking, my meals have primarily consisted of healthy, simple meals with seasonal flavors. This salad is a delightful example of this kind of weeknight eating, featuring sweet-tart dried cherries, two kinds of apples, musky toasted walnuts, roasted fennel, and a sweet vinaigrette, all wrapped in the loving arms of warm goat cheese.

Step 1: Slice one bulb of fennel into 1/4 inch slices. Coat them with olive oil and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Be sure to stir from time to time to ensure that the pieces are cooking evenly. Add a little water to the bottom of the pan if the fennel is drying out.

Step 2: Make the vinaigrette. Combine 1/4 cup balsalmic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon dried basil in a small bowl. Whisk together until the honey is dissolved. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Step 3: When the fennel has about 7 minutes to go in the oven, place a small pan with 1/3 cup walnuts spread evenly over the surface. Begin the process of preparing your lettuce. Be sure to wash and dry thoroughly, and set aside.

Step 4: When the fennel has about 4 minutes left, place a small dish of goat cheese in the oven to warm.

Step 5: Core and chop apples into thin half circles.

Step 6: Remove everything from the oven, and prepare to assemble the salad.

Step 7: Place lettuces, fennel, walnuts, cherries, and apple slices in a large bowl. Use a whisk to stir up the dressing and drizzle it down the sides of the bowl, not directly on top of its contents. Scoop the dressing off the bottom of the bowl with your fingers, folding it over the salad, mixing the contents in the process.

Step 8: Plate the salad, ensuring that each of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Top each salad with a disk of warm goat cheese. Serve immediately.

Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Roasted Fennel

Salad:

1 lb. Mixed baby greens

1 Gala apple

1 Granny Smith apple

6oz fresh goat cheese

1 large fennel bulb

1/3 cup walnuts

1/2 cup dried cherries

Olive oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Dressing:

1/4 cup balsalmic vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon dried basil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper