With Fall impending, we are in the midst of cherry season here in Michigan! I found this recipe for a cherry salad that sounded delicious and totally came through! There are a lot of ingredients to this one. For the salad base, I opted for a baby spinach/baby arugula mix and pea shoots. Added to that were cucumbers, little tomatoes, peppers, snap peas, red onion, and a carrot.
You’ll also want some canellini beans. I used dried beans, so they soaked for about a day and a half prior to making this.
For the pasta portion of this salad, I used whole grain rotini. While those cooked, I took on the messy and challenging task of de-pitting the cherries. As anyone who knows me can tell you, I’m a huge fan of murder mysteries and the mess made by the cherries closely resembled a crime scene.
Lastly, you will need a food processor for the dressing. The base of the dressing is silken tofu. Added to that is onion powder, garlic powder, maple syrup, white wine vinegar, dried mustard, a dash of salt and pepper, and, of course, poppy seeds! Blend all that together and it made a really good dressing!
After putting the salad together, with the beans and the cherries, I added the dressing and topped it with some sliced almonds.
You’ll see in one of the photos a bag with a flower design on it. These are homemade bread bags I bought on Etsy (shoutout to StephanieJos from LA, California). You really should get some of these. Cuts down on waste, they can be washed, and they are very pretty to boot! I get so many compliments on these! In the bag in the photo was a delicious French bread from Whole Foods.
All-in-all, this salad is now on the list of favorites and you can bet I’ll make it again!
