Salad with Herbs, Strawberries and Goat Cheese and Strawberry Balsamic Honey Vinaigrette

The other night we had some friends over to celebrate my husband’s birthday. He loves lasagna, which is perfect for a crowd, and wanted a berry cobbler for dessert. I wanted to make a spring salad, something different. My friend, John, has an organic farm in Kentucky, grows wonderful produce and sent back a variety of young lettuces including arugula, baby beet leaves, frisee and others. His parents, my friends and neighbors, visit often and he sends lots of produce back. LUCKY ME!! You will hear about him often. I have lots of fresh herbs growing as well (parsley has overtaken a flower bed) and strawberries are plentiful at the stores this time of year. So I created an herb, lettuce salad with strawberries and goat cheese! You don’t really need to be exact with the measurements. Just a bowl of lettuce, with chopped herbs, sliced strawberries and crumbled goat cheese! Easy right? Now I needed a dressing. Hmmm….  Balsamic vinegar and strawberries marry well together. Honey is sweet…   I have seen vinaigrettes made with just balsamic vinegar and fruit vinaigrettes made with just fruit vinegar. That’s when it hit me; try to puree the strawberries into the vinaigrette! It was really easy and you don’t have to search for fancy fruit vinegar or reduce a fruit juice. Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe!  Sure you could use a bottled fruit dressing but it has so much corn syrup and “other” ingredients. Use those in a pinch but this was easy and you will love it. It just takes a couple of minutes, throw it in a mini food processor or blender, whirl it up and it’s done. I did taste it immediately out of the food processor and the shallot flavor was strong, too strong! Don’t worry. Put it in the fridge and 4 hours later everything mellowed and blended together. I love the fresh flavor!

Salad with Herbs, Strawberries and Goat Cheese and Strawberry Balsamic Honey Vinaigrette

Strawberry Balsamic Honey Vinaigrette:

1 Tablespoon chopped Shallot

1/3 cup chopped strawberries

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons local honey

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon sea salt

In a mini food processor, pulse the chopped shallot until finely minced, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. Pour into a jar, cover and refrigerate until needed. This is better to make the day before and up to two days before.

Salad:

12 cups spring lettuces, washed and dried

2 cups coarse chopped fresh mixed herbs (such as parsley, dill, tarragon, basil, mint, oregano)

2 cups sliced strawberries

½ cup crumbled goat cheese

Place the lettuces and herbs in a large serving bowl and toss well. Shake vinaigrette, pour half of it over the lettuce/herb mixture; toss gently until well coated, add more as needed. Top with strawberries and crumbled goat cheese.

Enjoy! Pass the vinaigrette if someone wants more.  Serves 6

Posted in Cooking, Herbs, Lettuce, Strawberries & Berries | 2 Comments »

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