Strawberry Spinach Salad
Strawberry Spinach Salad
I had a guest for lunch today. D’Ann White, editor of a local news publication “The Bloomingdale Patch”, stopped by for a visit. Lunch was wonderful. It had been awhile since I had seen D’Ann face to face so we had some catching up to do. D’Ann and the folks at “Patch” have blessed me with an opportunity to be a weekly contributor. Each Saturday, they will publish one of my food columns. Imagine that! I’m so happy I could bust wide open.
This salad is perfect for a spring lunch. The Florida strawberry season is over. 🙁 I had to buy strawberries from a state left of here that were not as sweet as our Florida strawberries were this year. So, I added a little honey to the dressing. I used Ken’s Steakhouse Lite Raspberry Pomeganate dressing which is just wonderful. You can certainly make your own. I added some red leaf lettuce today because the heat is about to take out my lettuce garden so I’m using as much lettuce as I can. Plus, the red and green color is pretty and interesting.
1 pint strawberries, wash, hulled and sliced
6 oz. baby spinach
1 cup red leaf lettuce (optional)
1 thinly sliced shallot
4 oz. mozarrela cheese
2 oz. dried cherries
1/4 cup almond slices, toasted
Ken’s Steak House Lite Raspberry Pomegranate
honey to taste
Wash, hull and slice strawberries.
Wash lettuce.
I just love my two new enamel collanders!
Add spinach and lettuce to a bowl.
Throw in thinly sliced shallots. Red onion is added quite frequently to this salad but I find it a bit strong against the delicate flavor of the strawberries.
Add mozarella cheese that has been diced. I prefer this milder flavored cheese for the same reason I prefer shallots over red onions. I think it keeps the flavor of the strawberries from being overwhelmed.
Dried cherries and toasted slice almonds go in next. You can toast the almond slices by tossing them in a dry heated pan. It doesn’t take long. Keep your eye on them and toss (or stir) frequently. I toss because it makes me feel like I have some skill. 🙂
Toss with salad dressing and serve on a pretty plate. You know how I love pretty plates.
You might also enjoy these posts:
Tom says
This salad goes great with BBQ. I always threw in some toasted pecans and homemade garlic croutons in my salad. BTW, I like those fancy enamel colanders Jackie. I did have trouble finding that Ken’s Steak House Lite Raspberry Pomegranate dressing. They showed it at Walmart but they did not have it would you happen to have a recipe for making this dressing J?
Jackie Garvin says
Tom,
I haven’t made the recipe for the salad dressing from scratch yet, but I will try to work something up this week. Along with a basic vinaigrette, add pomegranate juice and pureed raspberries. 🙂