Don’t you hate it when a beautiful salad is so weighed down by its goat cheese dollops that it becomes positively unelegant? Problem solved below with a creamy dressing.

Serves 2-4 (2 meal-sized or 4 side salads)

Ingredients:

3-4 cups salad greens
¼ red onion, sliced thinly
3 yellow onions, sliced
2 T sugar
1 T butter
1 T fennel seeds
1 oz. goat cheese
3 T plus ½ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
Salt, pepper, and cumin
4 T crushed walnuts
1 apple, sliced thinly
1 pear, sliced thinly

Preparation:

Place 3 T olive oil and the fennel seeds in a skillet on medium low heat. When they start to darken in color, add the butter and the yellow onions.

When the onions begin to turn translucent, add the sugar and turn down the heat. Caramelize the onions, stirring occasionally, until they begin to turn brown.

Place half the caramelized onions, the goat cheese, half a cup of olive oil, the lemon juice, a quarter cup of water, and salt, pepper, and cumin to taste together in a food processor. Blend to make the salad dressing.

To serve, layer salad greens with the slices of red onion, apple, and pear. Add the rest of the onions, walnuts, dressing, and salt & pepper to taste.