Peach and Aged Blue Cheese Summer Salad
- Jennifer Reyes
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Peach and Aged Blue Cheese Summer Salad with Strawberry Peach Balsamic Vinegar
There are some salads that require a long list of ingredients and quite a bit of preparation. This is not one of them.
This peach and aged blue cheese salad is simple, soft, flavorful, and just a little unexpected. Sweet summer peach, rich blue cheese, crunchy walnuts, and salty soppressata are layered over tender spring greens, then finished with olive oil and a fruity strawberry peach white balsamic vinegar.
It is easy enough to make for lunch, but it also feels special enough to serve with dinner or bring out when friends stop by.
The inspiration for this salad came from a bottle of Peach Strawberry White Balsamic Vinegar I purchased at a specialty store. The vinegar was sweet, lightly tart, and full of summer fruit flavor. It worked beautifully with ripe peaches and aged blue cheese, but I also began wondering whether I could create something similar at home.
The answer is yes, with one small clarification. A homemade fruit-infused vinegar will not taste exactly like a commercially flavored and aged white balsamic vinegar. Specialty vinegars are often made with fruit extracts, which give them a more concentrated flavor without adding the water found in fresh fruit. One commercial version I found lists white balsamic vinegar, organic strawberry extract, and organic peach extract as its ingredients.
Our homemade version uses fresh fruit instead. The result is a softer, more natural fruit flavor that works wonderfully in salads, marinades, glazes, and vinaigrettes.
Why These Flavors Work Together
This salad is all about balancing sweet, salty, creamy, tangy, and crunchy ingredients.
The peach brings natural sweetness and softness, while the aged blue cheese adds a rich, pleasantly sharp flavor. Walnuts give the salad a little crunch, and a good-quality salted pork stick, such as salami or soppressata, brings just enough salt and savory flavor to make the peaches taste even sweeter.
The strawberry peach balsamic vinegar ties everything together. It adds acidity without covering up the delicate flavor of the peach.
Peach and Aged Blue Cheese Salad
This recipe makes approximately two generous lunch-size salads or four smaller side salads.
Ingredients
5 ounces spring mix salad greens
1 ripe but firm peach, diced
3 ounces good-quality salami or soppressata, thick sliced and quartered
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 to 3 ounces aged blue cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons strawberry peach white balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, only if needed
Instructions
Place the spring mix in a large salad bowl or divide it between individual plates.
Arrange the diced peach, sliced soppressata, walnuts, and crumbled aged blue cheese over the greens.
Drizzle the salad with the olive oil and strawberry peach white balsamic vinegar.
Add freshly ground black pepper and gently toss the salad just before serving.
Taste before adding salt. The blue cheese and soppressata are both naturally salty, so the salad may not need any additional salt.
Serve immediately.
A Few Helpful Salad Tips
Choose a peach that is ripe enough to be sweet and fragrant but still firm enough to hold its shape when diced. An overly soft peach can become mushy when the salad is tossed.
If you have a few extra minutes, lightly toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toasting brings out their natural richness and gives the salad a little more texture.
Aged blue cheese has a deeper, stronger flavor than a young, mild blue cheese. You do not need very much of it. If you prefer a gentler flavor, use a creamy blue cheese or even crumbled goat cheese.
Soppressata is an Italian dry salami that can be sweet, mildly spicy, or quite peppery. Choose one you already enjoy eating on its own. A traditional dry salami also works beautifully.
Because this salad contains several flavorful and salty ingredients, I prefer to dress it simply with olive oil and vinegar instead of making a heavier vinaigrette.
Homemade Strawberry Peach White Balsamic Vinegar
The easiest way to make a homemade version is to begin with a commercially prepared white balsamic vinegar. We are infusing an existing vinegar with fruit, not fermenting peaches and strawberries into vinegar from scratch.
Starting with white balsamic also gives us the mellow sweetness that ordinary distilled white vinegar would not provide.
Ingredients
1 cup peeled and diced ripe peaches
1 cup hulled and sliced strawberries
2 cups good-quality white balsamic vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar or honey, optional
For a peach-only vinegar, replace the strawberries with an additional cup of diced peaches.
Instructions
Wash the peaches and strawberries thoroughly under clean running water.
Peel and dice the peaches. Remove the strawberry stems and slice the berries.
Sterilize a pint-size glass jar by simmering it in water for 10 minutes. Carefully remove it from the water and allow it to drain.
Place the prepared fruit in the warm jar. Lightly press the fruit with a wooden spoon or muddler to help release some of its flavor. Do not puree it.
Pour the white balsamic vinegar into a nonreactive saucepan. Heat it to approximately 190°F, just below boiling.
Carefully pour the hot vinegar over the fruit, making sure the fruit is completely covered.
Seal the jar tightly and allow it to cool.
Place the jar in the refrigerator and allow the fruit to infuse for one to two weeks. Gently swirl the jar every few days.
Begin tasting the vinegar after one week. When the fruit flavor is strong enough for you, strain the vinegar through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or an unbleached coffee filter.
Do not press too firmly on the fruit while straining. Pressing the fruit can make the finished vinegar cloudy.
Taste the vinegar. If you would like a sweeter, more specialty-store-style flavor, warm a small amount of the strained vinegar and dissolve one tablespoon of sugar or honey into it. Stir it back into the remaining vinegar and taste before adding more.
Pour the finished vinegar into a clean, sterilized bottle, seal tightly, label, and refrigerate.
How Close Is It to Specialty-Store Vinegar?
The homemade vinegar will have the same general sweet, tart, and fruity character as a specialty strawberry peach white balsamic, but it will not be an exact copy.
Commercial flavored balsamic vinegars frequently use concentrated fruit extracts. Fresh peaches and strawberries contain water, so an infusion made with fresh fruit will generally taste lighter and more natural. It may also be thinner than a commercially aged balsamic.
Choosing a smooth, mildly sweet white balsamic as your base will make the biggest difference. Taste the white balsamic before using it. If it is extremely sharp or harsh, the fruit will not completely cover that flavor.
Important Storage and Food-Safety Information
Use commercially prepared vinegar for this recipe. Homemade fruit-infused vinegar should not be treated as a tested canning recipe or stored indefinitely at room temperature.
Keep the finished vinegar tightly sealed in the refrigerator and use it within approximately four months for the best flavor and quality. Remove all of the fruit after the infusion period. Fresh peach or strawberry pieces may look pretty in the bottle but leaving them in the finished vinegar can shorten its storage life.
Discard the vinegar without tasting it if you notice mold, bubbling, sliminess, unusual cloudiness, or other signs of fermentation or spoilage.
Oregon State University Extension recommends refrigeration for preserving the freshness and flavor of homemade flavored vinegars. You can read its complete flavored vinegar preparation and storage guidance.
Prefer to Purchase Strawberry Peach Vinegar?
If you do not want to make your own, there are several strawberry peach white balsamic vinegars available online.
Product availability, ingredients, bottle sizes, and prices can change, so review the current product information before ordering.
Peach and Aged Blue Cheese Summer Salad Is an Easy Salad That Still Feels Special
This peach and aged blue cheese salad is proof that a simple meal does not have to be plain.
It has soft greens, juicy peaches, creamy blue cheese, crunchy walnuts, and salty bits of soppressata in nearly every bite. The strawberry peach balsamic adds just enough sweetness and acidity to bring all those flavors together.
Serve it on its own for a light lunch, alongside grilled chicken or pork, or as a first course for a summer dinner. Once the vinegar is made, the entire salad comes together in only a few minutes, which is exactly the kind of recipe I appreciate during peach season.
As always, happy creating!
Jennifer
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