Spinach and Berry Salad with Strawberry vinaigrette

Not a very salad savy person, but I do like the occasional fancy looking salads, like this Spinach and Strawberry salad, that goes like a dream with a strawberry vinaigrette.

I originally made this salad so I could finally have some variation to serve on dinner parties, other than the more popular pasta salad and sweet cashew salad that I regularly make. But I now think, this is going into the list of “strawberry season must-make recipes”. The ingredients are very simple and if you like berries and greens, this is the salad for you.

Bonus: This salad has a nice sweet and tangy Salad dressing made with strawberries that just adds that extra oomph.

Making the strawberry Vinaigrette

This strawberry vinaigrette is literally the show stealer. The bright pink color, and a sweet tangy flavor makes it stand apart from regular dressings

The dressing has strawberries in it, other than oil, vinegar, honey and seasoning. You can use frozen or fresh strawberries for this mix. Simply chuck all the ingredients in a blender and blend away. Or you could even use an immersion blender to get the job done. Once you get a nice smooth mix, you know its done.

How to store and use the strawberry vinaigrette?

Make the vinaigrette and store separately. Use it on the salad when you are ready to eat. This dressing can last for up-to 3 days in the fridge, if you make excess. Keep in a container with lid.

Other salad dressing options:

• You can use the same recipe and use raspberries instead of strawberries.
• You can also do a basic vinaigrette to go with this salad, with lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and honey.
• You can simply chose to season the salad with lemon, salt and pepper.

Ingredients for the Green berry Salad

All the ingredients you need to whip up this salad are neatly laid out in the picture above. There’s some spinach, blueberry and strawberries, almonds, feta cheese and of course, the strawberry vinaigrette.

Ingredient Alternatives

Spinach – If you aren’t fond of spinach or don’t have any at hand, you can use arugula or rocket leaves as well!

Feta cheese – Feta cheese is a personal preference, having been born and raised in the Middle East. But you can also use goat cheese instead of Feta

Berries – This salad is essentially based on strawberries, so of course that isn’t substitute-able. But you can add black berries or raspberries in the mix.

Nuts – I went with almonds for this particular recipe. But be creative and add any nuts of your liking, like walnuts, pecan or cashew. Or skip nuts altogether!

How to keep your greens fresh

Greens that are consumed raw need to be fresh and crunchy when you eat them. Best way to keep your greens looking fresh, is washing them by ice cold water.

Fill a large bowl with ice cold water and dip your spinach or arugula or any other greens in it. Making sure that they are fully submerged. Let the leaves sit in for 5 mins. Slowly start removing the leaves from the top, trying not to disturb the water a lot. You will see a layer of dirt collected at the bottom of your bowl. You can rinse these leaves once more with cold water and they are good to go!

Assembling the Spinach and Berry Salad

You can stop right here and refrigerate the salad if you are going to have it later. If you are going to have it right away, then top it with some almonds and drizzle that rich strawberry vinaggraite and dig right in.

Make it a meal.

This salad is already packed with nutrients and is super filling. But you can also turn it into a full fledged meal with a piece of grilled fish or chicken right on top of it, (marinated with some basic salt, pepper, lemon and garlic).

Add some pita chips to add some crunch and carbs to the meal.

How to store it?

You can store the salad in any container with lid, for up to 3 days as long as you haven’t poured in the vinaigrette.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

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Berry Salad

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

A sweet salad made with a combination of leafy greens, strawberry, blueberries, nuts and feta cheese, paired with a vinaigrette made with strawberries.

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Ingredients

Salad

• 1 cup of thinly sliced strawberries
• 3/4 cup of blueberries
• 5 cups of spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese
• 12 to 13 roasted almonds sliced or whole

Strawberry Vinaigrette

• 2 pinches of salt
• 1/2 cup of strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper powder or freshly crushed (adjust to taste)
• 1 tbsp of vinegar

Instructions

Strawberry Vinaigrette

1. Toss all the ingredients of the Vinaigrette in the blender and blend until you reach a smooth silky consistency.
2. Pour in a small bowl or cup with a lid.
3. Keep refrigerated till it needs to be used.

Salad assembling

1. Wash the green leaves with ice cold water and pat dry.
2. Layer a bowl with all the greens and add berries and nuts on top of it.
3. Crumble cheese on the salad and drizzle the salad dressing all over.
4. Consume immediately after adding dressing.
   

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 600Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 883mgCarbohydrates: 73gFiber: 16gSugar: 50gProtein: 29g