Hazelnut, Tomato Salad With Goat Cheese

Healthy Salad Ingredients

6 cup mixed greens, lettuce
¼ cup hazelnuts, chopped
1 ½ ounce goat cheese, crumbled
1 tomato, cored and chopped into wedges
1 tablespoon fresh chives, snipped
1/8 cup champagne vinegar
½ tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. For hazelnut goat cheese and tomato salad – In a serving platter arrange mixed greens, goat cheese, hazelnuts and tomatoes. Drizzle the vegetables with ¼ cup champagne vinaigrette (recipe given below). Serve. This recipe makes 6 servings.
2. For champagne vinaigrette ¬– Combine finely chopped green onions, salt, pepper, lemon juice and champagne vinegar in a food processor. Cover the lid and process. Through the feed tube, gradually add olive oil in a steady thin stream.
3. Continue to process until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the fresh snipped chives. Cover the bowl and place it in a refrigerator to chill for about 1 hour or up to 3 days. Stir well before drizzling it over the vegetables.
4. This recipe makes about ½ cup vinaigrette. Note: If the oil in the chilled dressing settles on the top then thaw the dressing for about 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Health Tip:

• Hazelnut, goat cheese and tomato salad with dressing is a low calorie, diabetes friendly recipe which provides about 107 calories, 3 gm proteins, 3 gm carbohydrates and 10 gm total fat (2 gm saturated fat and 3 mg cholesterol) per serving.
• This recipe also provides 1 gm fiber and 75 mg sodium per serving.
• To reduce the total fat content of this recipe you can use low fat or reduced fat goat cheese in place of regular whole fat cheese.
• You can also reduce the total calories of this recipe by reducing the amount of olive oil used in the dressing; reduce either by half or by one forth. This little modification will also help to reduce the total fat content of this recipe.
• This recipe contains dairy and nuts, so if you are allergic to any of these ingredients, make sure that you skip them when making your dish.
• You may prepare the dressing in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Like most of the salad recipes this is a quick and very convenient salad recipe which can be prepared in less than 10 minutes.