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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

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Strawberry Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
I recently attended my niece Kayla’s wedding. Everything was just perfect including this amazing strawberry spinach salad with a strawberry vinaigrette that was served at her reception. I couldn’t wait to try and recreate it. In addition to the flavor, I was so impressed by the presentation. The dish showcased each ingredient so you knew exactly what was in this Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette.

This salad would be another great salad to take to a get-together or a ladies brunch because it can be assembled easily at the last minute. The dressing is best made ahead of time so the flavors can mingle and get to know each other. For this reason, I made the vinaigrette first so it could chill while I constructed the salad.

I have determined that I am a strawberry snob. I am not proud of this, but it’s the truth. I had two pounds of strawberries, and I put the pretty ones on one side of my cutting board for slicing, and the large or very ripe berries on the other side for my vinaigrette.

IMG_0747 I purposely left my strawberry huller in this picture. It does a great job removing the hull from strawberries. I also use it to remove the seeds and ribs from jalapenos.

In a blender, add one pound of the berries, 1/2 cup of canola oil, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/3 cup of honey, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, juice from 1/2 lemon (approximately 1 tablespoon), 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. I added my oil first and used the same measuring cup for my honey so the honey would slide right out. Blend until completely combined. Refrigerate until serving. Shake lightly prior to use. You could use another oil or vinegar, but I really wanted to keep this light.

For the salad, I washed and spun dry one bag of organic baby spinach. You can use a lot more than one bag (I used a 6 oz bag) because the dressing recipe makes quite a bit. Just increase the other salad ingredients as well. I removed the stems if they were thick or too long. Even if the salad I buy says it’s triple washed and ready to eat, I wash it anyway. I am very careful when it comes to food and hygiene.

Construct the salad by laying down the baby spinach on a platter or in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of crumbled feta, 1 cup of candied pecans, roughly chopped, and 1 pound of strawberries sliced into thirds. You can mix it all together or build it out visually like I did. I don’t pre-dress this salad prior to serving. I have made candied nuts before, but I took the easy way out and bought a package at Trader Joes.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

Total Time 10 mins
Author Julie Menghini

Notes

6 oz baby spinach, washed and spun dry
1 cup feta, crumbled
1 cup candied pecans, roughly chopped
1 lb of strawberries, sliced in thirds
Salad can be tossed all together or built on a platter showcasing each ingredient. Dress salads individually.
Recipe provided by HostessAtHeart
Tried this recipe? That's awesome!Mention @hostessatheart or tag #hostessatheart!

Print

Strawberry Vinaigrette

Total Time 10 mins
Author Julie Menghini

Notes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 lb fresh strawberries
1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate until serving. Shake prior to use.
Recipe provided by HostessAtHeart
Tried this recipe? That's awesome!Mention @hostessatheart or tag #hostessatheart!

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Comments

  2. Sylvia @superfoodista.com says

    August 8, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    Yum – love the vinaigrette!! Never thought of adding fresh fruits to a vinaigrette, I would usually use the special fruit vinegars to make fruity vinaigrettes – I bet this tastes much better too! Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe!

    Reply

  8. saucygander says

    August 2, 2014 at 2:26 pm

    What a delightful salad! All the flavours would be good individually, but I can also imagine how well they go together with the strawberry vinaigrette. I’m saving this recipe for picnics and summer dinner parties!! I can see this week’s FF crowd loved this salad as well, I hope you are enjoying the party!!

    Reply

  11. Margot @ Gather and Graze says

    August 1, 2014 at 7:26 pm

    This is such an elegant summer salad Julie! Perfect for a wedding or a Fiesta! I love how the salad ingredients are arranged (reminiscent of an Old Master’s still life painting) and your pretty dressing in the decanter looks divine – the way of tying it all in together. Thanks so very much for bringing such a beautiful dish to Fiesta Friday this week – it’s much appreciated! Cheers, Margot

    Reply

  16. Liz says

    July 30, 2014 at 1:51 pm

    Oh how nice, I am in the process of posting my spinach and strawberry salad right now, almost similar except for the vinaigrette. The salad looks amazing!

    Reply

    • HostessAtHeart says

      July 30, 2014 at 2:21 pm

      That’s great Liz! I know when I get ready to make something that sounds good I will read several versions of a similar dish and put them together the way I want. I am sure that our friends will do the same thing. Plus, there will be people that see yours and not mine and vice versa, so please put it out there.

      Thank you for the compliment! It was delicious even messed up in a salad bowl 🙂

      Reply

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