Spring Salad

Strawberries are lovely paired with spinach or spicy arugula.

Pibby’s Spring Salad

Growing up I worked in a charming sandwich shop in a small town that was hugely popular for lunch. The specials menu was so good it often sold out before the lunch rush was over. One of our best sellers was a spinach salad topped with fresh strawberries, tangy feta, and crunchy pecans. Here’s how we made it:

Ingredients

2 Cups of Greens, ideally spinach or a mix of spinach and arugula

7-10 Strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

1/4 Cup Feta Cheese, crumbled - OR- Goat Cheese, crumbled

1/4 Cup Pecan pieces

Red onion, cut into thin strips (optional)

Salad Dressing such as a balsamic vinaigrette, poppy seed, or raspberry vinaigrette (recipe included below if you want to mix your own)

Steps

Mix all ingredients except for the pecans together in a bowl.
Toss with 2-3 TBS of salad dressing until everything is coated.
Add to a plate or bowl.
Top with pecan pieces and freshly ground black pepper.

Simple Vinaigrette

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

2 TBS Red Wine Vinegar

2 TBS Fresh Squeeze Lemon Juice

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 TBS Finely Diced Shallot -OR- 1 Finely Minced or Grated Garlic Clove

Scant 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Steps

Add the shallot or garlic to a small bowl or mason jar.
Top with red wine, lemon juice, and salt and allow to macerate for a few minutes to cut back on the raw flavor of the vegetables.
Add the rest of the ingredients.
Whisk or shake together until well mixed.
Taste. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Variations

Berry: whisk in 1 TBS Strawberry or Raspberry Jam
Honey Lime : whisk in 1 1/2 TBS freshly squeezed lime juice and 1 1/2 TBS honey

Storing: This will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

The fun part of making a salad is trying different flavor combinations. Swap pecans for walnuts and add thinly sliced crisp apple. When strawberries are no longer in season, add blueberries or watermelon.

Kitchen Acumen Tips:

Most pecans will work with this salad. Spiced, sweet, praline, roasted, or raw. If you want to try your hand at making spiced nuts, I like this recipe from Modern Mrs. Darcy. Don’t forget to pick up your Summer Reading Guide when you visit her site!
I rarely buy salad dressing anymore. I can’t understand the ingredients on most bottles and, quite honestly, I want a good quality olive oil and to limit how much salt is used. This means we have a lot of small mason jars of dressing in our fridge at any given time. At first, my husband didn’t realize they were salad dressing. It took me way too long to realize I should be labelling the jars. Both so that Joe knew what they were and so that I knew how long they had been in the fridge. Now I always label jars of dressing with the contents and date mixed. I write it on a post it and tape it to the lid or jar.
After refrigerating the vinaigrette, you may want to take it out to warm to room temperature 15 minutes before using it again. If you’re using a good quality olive oil it will solidify in the refrigerator. That’s totally normal. Let it warm up (pop in the microwave for a few seconds if you’re in a rush) and shake to combine if it has separate at all.
The vinaigrette works really well as a marinade for chicken.
This salad works well with many fruit and nut combinations. Try these variations:
- Exactly as above, but add basil
- Watermelon, grape, and goat cheese with almond slivers
- Cantaloupe, blueberry, and feta with pecans
- Watermelon and shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano (skip the nuts)