.png)
Spring Greens and Strawberry Salad with Strawberry
Vinaigrette – All Year Long
Bright, young leafy greens and gorgeous red strawberries combine for a delightful salad that screams “springtime.” But -- happily -- the story is more complicated.
“Spring Mix,” a collection of young salad greens is now
available throughout the year. And most of it is hydroponically grown in
greenhouses. Increasingly it’s produced locally in all seasons. Strawberries,
which in my childhood were very seasonal and locally grown, are available year
round, and are either shipped in, or now also greenhouse grown. Strawberries
are safest if organic or at least raised in greenhouses.
Here’s my “springtime” salad offering, which was
previously a column in Boom Magazine, an Athens publication for which I
regularly write about food and cooking.
Using some of the strawberries, particularly the less
beautiful ones in the package, to infuse the salad dressing makes the salad an
even more intense celebration of spring. And, thanks to modern agriculture, it
can be enjoyed any time of year.
The recipe serves six. The salad dressing can be made in
advance.
1 pint (16 ounces) strawberries, organic or greenhouse
grown
1 sprig fresh mint or other herb, optional
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus to taste
3 tablespoons wine vinegar or cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons sunflower oil or part olive oil
4 cups (loosely measured) spring mix salad greens (from
supermarket)
Divide the strawberries into two halves, the prettiest
berries in one half. Save those for topping the salad.
Using the less pretty berries, cut off the hulls and stems
and chop or mash the berries finely. Mix them in a bowl with the fresh herb, if
used, sugar, salt, vinegar and water. Mix well and allow to sit for an hour or
more. Put mixture through a strainer into another bowl and press down firmly to
extract the juices. Discard the squeezed-out strawberry pulp. Add the black
pepper and oil to the liquid in the bowl. Mix and taste for salt, adding a
little, if needed, to taste. It should be faintly salty.
Place the spring mix (no need to rinse the leaves if the
package indicates they were already washed) in a salad bowl. Hull the reserved
(prettier} strawberries. Slice them from top to bottom 1/4-inch thick and
distribute them on top of the salad greens. Transfer the dressing to an
attractive jar. Just before serving, and preferably at the table for the diners
to see, toss the dressing with the greens and berries.
