This post is part of fellow book blogger, Beth Fish Reads‘, weekly meme (a “community” blog post, for all those non-bloggers out there) called Weekend Cooking.
For the past few weeks, our local farmer’s market has had the most delicious strawberries. You know the ones I’m talking about…where they taste super sweet and are red (not white) all the way through the center?!
I’d been trying to come up with some unique ways to use them and ended up throwing them in a salad last weekend. This is my own creation, and as you may know, I’m not big on “recipes” or measuring, so this is more of a combination recommendation than a true “recipe”.
And, I read somewhere that when you’re making something simple that doesn’t contain lots of ingredients, it’s especially important to find the best ingredients you can. So, I recommend using the best of each ingredient in this salad…it will make a huge difference.
Strawberry Arugula Salad
- 1 bunch of fresh arugula (preferably the good kind from a farmer’s market or Whole Foods, not those tiny leaves you find in the plastic containers at the grocery store)
- Fresh strawberries, halved (preferably farmer’s market strawberries)
- Crumbled feta cheese (the good kind that comes in a block, not pre-packaged crumbles)
- Slivered almonds, toasted
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
I make my own using a combination of dijon mustard, good quality balsamic vinegar, good quality extra virgin olive oil, good quality honey, and salt and pepper. I mix the mustard and vinegar, then slowly whisk in the oil. Finally, I add the honey and salt and pepper to taste.
Dress the salad at the very last minute. Most importantly, do not overdress the salad like I did! The arugula wilts very easily and can turn soggy if you use too much dressing or dress it too far in advance.
I’m heading to the Farmer’s Market right now, I’m going to look for all of these for a light lunch.
I love using strawberries in a salad. They give it a little extra oomph! Yours looks delish.
Thanks for the reminder of how good strawberries are in salad. Now I know what I’ll do with the last few strawberries. Sometimes I use a poppyseed dressing with a strawberry salad.
I think a Poppyseed dressing would go great with this! Will bring out the sweetness in the strawberries!
We’ve been getting a lot of strawberries from our garden. Haven’t thought of using them in salads until your post. Yum!
Arugula and strawberries with balsamic vinegar are such a great combination!
I make a similar salad it is so tasty. You make me want to make it now 😉
I can’t quite imagine what this tastes like…. Next summer I’ll look out for these ingredients. Cheers
I do love strawberries that are dark all the way through the middle. Your salad looks like the perfect way to welcome summer!
Oh, I love salads with strawberries. It’s perfect for summer.
I’ve never made a salad with strawberries, but it sounds and looks yummy!