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July 4, 2009 in salad • 7 comments
strawberry and feta salad
Update: strawberry and feta salad is now entered in this week’s ZOE Secret Ingredient Challenge. Psst: the secret ingredient is feta.
With strawberry vinaigrette!
You know. I’ve really got to begin paying attention to presentation when I snap these photos. I’ve been just putting something on a plate or bowl the way I’d eat it and sometimes it’s not quite so…attractive.
Like this strawberry and feta salad. I shouldn’t have mixed it up first. I should have put the lettuce in the bowl, artfully arranged the strawberry slices on top, rakishly sprinkled the toasted slivered almonds atop that, and strategically placed feta crumbles throughout. Then I should have drizzled the strawberry vinaigrette on the lettuce only, magically avoiding the strawberries, almonds, and feta.
But noooooo.
It’s all mixed together, feta tinted pink by rogue strawberry juices, lettuce with messy-looking bits of cheese and strawberry clinging to it, almonds haphazardly fallen to the bottom of the bowl.
It’s a pictorial Hindenberg.
/end rant
This is the last of the strawberries. Everybody heave a big sad sigh here. Don’t tell sis; these are the ones I got from her last week. They’ve been languishing in the fridge covered in plastic wrap, crying out in their tiny high little voices. Needless to say, some of them had to go. But they were in decent shape; a few soft spots here and there; a few too soft to use.
The lettuce in the garden is still going strong, which is really weird for July. It made it through last week’s hot spell without bolting, and these cooler days are making it happy face.
If you have rabbit food and some strawberries in the fridge, try out this salad. The tang of the feta is a neat counterpoint to the strawberries, and who can resist crunchy almonds?
Try the strawberry vinaigrette on a spinach salad, too. What do you like to do with fruity vinaigrettes?
strawberry and feta salad
prep: 20 minutes
into your mouths: 20 minutes
servings: 5strawberry and feta salad
8 ounces lettuce, torn
1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toastedstrawberry vinaigrette
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup strawberries, halved
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepperToast the almonds: Place in a shallow pan over medium heat. Shake or stir frequently. You want the almonds lightly browned, not dark brown. They’re almost done when you hear popping noises and smell the almonds.
Prepare the vinaigrette: Place olive oil, the 1/2 cup halved strawberries, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, basil, salt, and pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Mix the salad: In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, 1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries, feta cheese, and toasted almonds. If serving immediately to a group, mix in strawberry vinaigrette. For single servings, add vinaigrette to taste.
Nutrition information (fat and calories will be lower if you go lighter on the vinaigrette): 308 calories; 30g fat; 13mg cholesterol; 290mg sodium; 8g carbohydrate; 2.6g fiber; 4.6g sugars; 4.9g protein; 6% vitamin A; 45% vitamin C; 12% calcium; 5% iron
tags: almonds, feta, lettuce, strawberries
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[...] Strawberry and feta salad. [...]
Hi Amy,
I wandered over here after seeing a tweet about your photos being accepted on Tastespotting. Congrats!
Growing up in Michigan, my uncle had a strawberry farm and I, along with his kids of course, used to be recruited to pick them during the height of the season. It was fun for about the first 5 minutes, then it was hot and buggy! But the strawberries were delicious. Sadly, strawberry season is long gone around here (PA), but our lettuce is also still going strong. (I worry that we’ll pay for all this temperate weather come September and October.)
Anyway, I’m just dropping by to have a look around and let you know about my site, TasteStopping, which publishes any food photos that the other sites (Tastespotting/FoodGawker) reject. I hope you will come check it out; it’s a lot of fun! Better yet, submit some photos.
Best,
Casey
Editor
http://www.tastestopping.wordpress.com
Thanks, Casey! It was unseemly – I squee’d when the email arrived.
You know what? Tastestopping was going to be the pic’s next stop. I heard about Tastestopping (and RSS’d it) yesterday on Endless Simmer. The weird thing was, that was what prompted me to shoot off a pic, like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks.
Anyway, just woke up, Tastestopping rocks, and I’ll definitely be forwarding my rejects!
That salad looks so good! I really love the ingredients in the dressing…it really sounds delicious!
It’s a really neat dark red color too.
Almost like a catalina, but a bit darker. It’s a bit thicker too, because of the whole berries in it. I bet if you used a white balsamic the color would be a bit pinker overall.
This is a wonderful fresh salad I could eat anytime! You should submit this to the blogger secret ingredient challenge I am hosting. The challenge this week is feta and this would be perfect!
And feta’s the secret ingredient! How perfect! I’m totally updating the post now to enter.
Thanks, Zoe.
P.S. I do design too. Love your style, fresh, clean and colorful.