The Summer Salad Formula: Sheep's Milk Cheese, Mandarins, and Pistachios

If you are like me, every summer comes along with a favorite food that I end up eating over and over again. Something that is easy to put together and doesn’t require much thought. Arizona summers hit different. We hope the monsoons break up the hard-hitting heat waves, but usually we just end up sweating and trying really hard not to burn ourselves on car seats and steering wheels. This means we need a no-cook option, and we need it fast. This recipe is mine for the summer of ‘26

The base is mandarins, peeled and segmented, sweet and just acidic enough to hold up to cheese. For the cheese, I chose Lamb Chopper, but we also have its cousin Lambourgini, both sheep's milk cheeses. They're nutty, buttery, and mild, which is exactly what you want here. Nothing so sharp or funky that it tries too hard with the fruit.

The dressing is super easy and follows a formula you’ll come back to again and again: oil, acid, sweet, and salt. I used what I had in our shop kitchen: olive oil, red wine vinegar (not even sure where that came from), honey, mandarin zest, and good sea salt. Next, drizzle it over the fruit and nuts, toss gently, then add the cheese. Done!

A Sheep, A Mandarin, and a Nut Walk Into a BarServes 2

For the salad: ¼ lb Lamb Chopper or Lambourgini, broken into rough pieces 4–5 mandarins, peeled and segmented ¼ cup pistachios

For the dressing: 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (start here, add more if you like), 1 tsp honey, zest of 1/2 mandarin, flaky salt to finish

Combine the mandarins and pistachios in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, vinegar, honey, and orange zest. Toss lightly. Add the cheese and toss once more, gently — you want the pieces to stay intact. Finish with flaky salt.

The only problem with this salad is that you'll spend the whole time trying to get cheese, fruit, and nuts into every single bite. Or maybe that's just me.