Black and White Grape Salad

This is a P. Allen Smith recipe from his “Season recipes from the Garden Book“.  I just had to post this recipe.  It is  elegant, light  and  flavorful, each flavor comes shining through, it makes a beautiful presentation and would be perfect for a dinner party or for the holidays. I made one change with  the Oranges, see my notes at the bottom.  

Ingredients:
1 pound of  black or red seedless  grapes  sliced in half  lengthwise
1 pound green seedless grapes sliced in half around the middle
1  orange grated  Zest
1/3  cup of fine sugar
6 oranges   3- segmented  3- juiced
1 cup  crumbled goat cheese
½ cup roasted walnuts 


Directions:

Put the grapes in a large bowl and add the orange zest  and the sugar, next add the  orange segments and mix gently.
* see my notes below about oranges
Add the orange juice. There should be enough liquid to cover the fruit, if not, add a bit more juice.. Mix thoroughly and cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
   When you are ready to serve the salad, use a slotted spoon to transfer the grapes and oranges to individual salad plates . Top each with  about 2 tablespoons of the goat cheese and 1 tablespoon of walnuts.






* notes
I substituted 3 segmented oranges  for 1 -16 oz. can of mandarin oranges drained and it worked well.