The whole name for this salad is Goat Cheese, Grape, and Walnut Salad with a Grape Molasses Dressing. It’s from one of my favorite books – A Middle Eastern Pantry, by Lior Lev Sercarz, published in 2023. It’s in his book that I discovered grape molasses. Pomegranate molasses is pretty popular, but there’s a grape variety of molasses! I never knew and it’s my new favorite!
From the author: “Grapes are used in three different forms in this colorful salad to really drive home their versatility: grape molasses to make caramelized walnuts, verjus as the acidic component of the dressing, and fresh grapes, which complement the creamy goat cheese.”
I’m extremely fond of lettuce-based salads, but this was outstanding. Mr. Sercarz certainly knows ingredients and their flavors.
This would be a great dish to serve as part of a lunch buffet.
Goat Cheese, Grape, and Walnut Salad
Caramelized Walnuts:
1 cup walnuts
1 tablespoon grape molasses
Salt
Aleppo pepper
Dressing:
2 teaspoons grape molasses
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon verjus
Salt
Aleppo pepper
Salad:
1 1/2 cups red grapes, halved
4 sprigs mint, leave picked and chopped
5 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon nigella seeds
Extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350 degreesF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, toss the walnuts with the grape molasses and season to taste with salt and Aleppo pepper. Transfer the walnuts to the prepared pan, reserving the bowl. Bake until the walnuts look and smell caramelized, about 15 minutes. Set the walnuts aside to cool.
In the same bowl, whisk together the grape molasses, oil, and verjus. Season to taste with salt and Aleppo pepper.
Add the grapes and half of the mint to the dressing and gently stir to combine. Arrange the cheese on a serving platter, then top with the grape mixture, followed by the caramelized walnuts, nigella seeds, and remaining mint.
Finish with a drizzle of oil and serve.
I can also see this salad served on top of thinly sliced curly lettuce, with extra dressing, which was wonderful!