Spinach Strawberry Salad with Creamy Strawberry Vinaigrette

Strawberry week continues with a salad.  Other fruits, such as raspberries, citrus and pomegranate, are often used for salad dressing so why not strawberries?  To keep up the strawberry theme and add even more berry deliciousness, I threw a handful of sliced strawberries into the salad itself.

Use your own favorite combination of salad ingredients but keep the strawberries!

The Dressing

• Strawberries, 1/2 cup when chopped and mashed
• Olive Oil, 1/2 cup  (I used  extra light olive oil for this.  I didn’t want the heavy flavor of extra virgin to overpower the berries.)
• Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar, 1/4 cup
• Sugar, 2 tablespoons
• Heavy Cream, 3 or 4 tablespoons
• Salt/Pepper

The Salad

• Baby Spinach
• Mixed  Greens
• Strawberries
• Red Onion
• Avocado
• Sliced Almonds
• Feta Cheese

Rinse a few berries and chop them into small chunks.Sprinkle them with sugar.Muddle, or mash, them until they’re almost pureed.  I could’ve used the food processor but it seemed a waste for such a small task.Measure the oil and vinegar in a big glass measuring cup.  It really doesn’t have to be  precise.Season with a little salt and pepper and whisk in the strawberry puree.Just before serving, whisk in the cream.Toss the greens in a large bowl.Slice the red onion into thin rings and throw it in.Slice the avocado into wedges and add it.  Sprinkle with crumbled feta or goat cheese.Slice a few more strawberries.Top it off with sliced or slivered almonds.Serve it up……and top it with dressing.

Tagged as: almonds, avocado, cream, olive oil, red onion, salad, salad dressing, spinach, strawberries, vinegar