Peach and Arugula Salad with Walnuts for Full GAPS

Soft, ripe peach, peppery arugula and crisp bell pepper give this salad its contrast. Finely chopped prepared walnuts add a little crunch, and a cider-vinegar dressing coats the leaves. Toss it just before serving so the peaches keep their shape and the arugula stays crisp.

One batch makes a generous bowl for about six to eight servings. The five-minute assembly estimate assumes your walnuts are already prepared. Washing, drying and cutting the produce can take extra time, so have those jobs in mind before you begin.

Have the walnuts ready first

Use salt-soaked crispy walnuts that have finished their soaking, slow drying and cooling. Chop the prepared nuts finely, then measure the one-third cup for the base batch. A cup of small pieces packs differently from a cup of walnut halves.

If you are starting that component from raw walnuts, its soak takes at least seven hours and its low-temperature drying takes twelve to twenty-four hours. Those hours belong to the walnut preparation, separate from this salad’s assembly time. A refrigerated jar of finished walnuts makes the salad much easier to put together.

The walnuts are optional. You can leave them out and keep the other ingredients and dressing amounts unchanged.

Choose ripe fruit and dry greens

The base bowl uses ten cups arugula, five medium ripe peaches and two yellow or orange bell peppers. Rinse the produce before cutting it. Dry the arugula thoroughly in a salad spinner or with a clean kitchen towel so water on the leaves does not thin the dressing.

A ripe peach gives slightly when gently pressed and has flesh that is tender enough to bite comfortably. Choose fruit that can still be diced into pieces. Very hard peaches will not give the soft contrast intended here, while collapsing fruit will be difficult to toss without mashing.

Remove the peach pits. Remove the pepper stems, seeds and loose white membranes, then dice the peaches and peppers into similar bite-size pieces. That helps distribute the soft fruit and crisp pepper throughout the greens.

The dressing uses equal measures of cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil and plain additive-free cider vinegar, with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, sea salt and black pepper. This version uses cider vinegar in place of balsamic. Keep it free of added sugar and flavorings.

How to assemble the salad

1. Measure the prepared walnuts. Have fully dried and cooled salt-soaked walnuts ready. Chop finely and measure the amount on the card, or leave them out for the option without nuts.
2. Wash and dry the greens. Rinse the arugula, then spin or pat it dry. The leaves should not be dripping when they go into the serving bowl.
3. Cut the fruit and peppers. Rinse and pit the ripe peaches. Remove the stems, seeds and loose membranes from the yellow or orange peppers. Dice both into bite-size pieces. Wash the lemon and grate the outer yellow peel for the zest, keeping the bitter white pith out, then squeeze its juice.
4. Fill a wide bowl. Combine the arugula, diced peaches, diced peppers and optional prepared walnuts. Choose a bowl with room above the ingredients so you can lift and turn them gently.
5. Whisk the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk the measured olive oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, sea salt and black pepper until the liquids look evenly mixed. If they separate while standing, whisk again just before pouring.
6. Dress and serve. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently, lifting from the bottom. The leaves should have a light coating and the peach pieces should remain intact. Serve promptly.

This simple whisked dressing can separate again after you set down the bowl. Mix it again just before dressing the greens.

Dress only when you are ready to serve. Leaving the salad coated for a long time softens the arugula and lets peach juice collect at the bottom. Gentle lifting with salad servers helps keep the ripe fruit in pieces.

Full GAPS and when to serve it

Use this Full GAPS salad after raw fruit, raw vegetables and prepared walnut pieces have been introduced and tolerated. It is not an early Intro salad. Raw fruit is introduced gradually after cooked fruit is tolerated and stools are consistently normal; raw vegetables and nut pieces also need their own progression.

GAPS places raw fruit between meals. Serve this peach-and-greens bowl as its own fruit-containing preparation between meals, rather than beside a meat main dish. The lemon juice in the dressing does not change the peach portion into a meat accompaniment.

Bell peppers are nightshades. If they have not been introduced and tolerated, choose another preparation using the foods you already tolerate.

This salad contains no dairy or egg ingredient. You can leave out the walnuts and keep the dressing unchanged.

Preparation, serving and leftovers

Prepare the walnuts ahead and keep them refrigerated as their own recipe directs. Wash and dry the arugula before assembly, keeping it covered and refrigerated. You can whisk the dressing separately and keep it covered and refrigerated until needed; whisk it again before use.

Cut the peaches close to assembly so their texture is at its best. Keep the fruit, greens, nuts and dressing separate until you are ready to toss. The finished salad is meant to be served promptly, rather than held as a fully dressed bowl.

Cover and refrigerate any leftovers promptly at 40°F (4°C) or below. Expect dressed leaves to soften and peach juices to collect.

For a separate cooked vegetable preparation, the Brussels sprouts with lemon and prepared hazelnuts have their own ingredients and warm method. Follow that recipe’s food-introduction conditions as well.

Equipment for a gentle toss

A colander or salad spinner, knife and wooden cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, citrus zester and juicer, small bowl and whisk, and wide serving bowl with salad servers are enough. The walnut soaking and drying setup belongs to the linked advance preparation.

Questions before serving

Can I leave out the walnuts?

Yes. Leave out the measured walnuts and keep the remaining salad and dressing amounts the same. No replacement ingredient is needed.

Why is the five-minute time separate from soaking?

The salad starts with completed prepared walnuts. Starting from raw nuts adds their full soak, drying and cooling before you can chop and measure them. The card’s short assembly estimate does not include those hours.

How does the serving range work at 2×?

This recipe serves about six to eight. A double batch serves about twelve to sixteen.

Can I dress it before taking it to the table?

Whisk the dressing separately, then add it close to serving. The arugula should still have some firmness and the peaches should remain in pieces when you lift the salad from the bowl.

More Full GAPS preparations

Look for the planned Full GAPS Cookbook in the WFLI Shop for current release information. For this bowl, have the prepared walnuts ready and keep the dressing separate until serving.