caramelized apple, sage, and goat cheese salad

I'm on a sage kick. This salad is one of my new favorite things. I've made it three times this week (I'm not kidding). I made it for the first time last weekend and pretty much haven't been able to stop eating it since!

The recipe is from Donna Hay's The Instant Cook. One thing I really like about this cookbook (besides the beautiful pictures) is that there are variations for many of the recipes. The main salad featured (the following one is a variation of it) is "caramelized pear and rocket salad". I actually tried the original with pear and blue cheese when Marika was over last night. It was good, but I think I like the apple, sage, goat cheese variation even better. Here's how it goes:

Caramelized Apple, Sage & Goat Cheese Salad

Serves 4

4 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. brown sugar (I used light muscavado)

1 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves

2 apples, cored, and quartered

1/2 cup walnuts

5 cups baby spinach

5 oz. goat cheese

Heat the butter, vinegar, and sugar in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the apple, walnuts, and sage and cook for 4-6 minutes, until the apple begins to soften. Place the spinach on serving plates and top with warm apple mixture. Spook over the pan juices and top with goat cheese.