This entire salad, minus the avocado and dressing, came from a farm not more than 20 miles from where I live. It's incredibly fresh and a complete delight to the mouth. I realize that maybe many of you have moved on from strawberries because in your neck of the woods you were lucky enough to have started eating them all last month and now you have blueberries, cherries and maybe even peaches to contend with. But if you follow me on twitter, you'll know that they finally arrived near me hear in the N.W.
I made this salad twice this week. I couldn't get enough of it. The perfectly sweet strawberries, the spicy kick from the radishes, the creamy avocado, all mix with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette and piled on top of a bed of spinach. My mouth is watering again just typing this.
I was never a huge fan of radishes, or so I thought. But now I'm kicking myself for not planting them in my own garden. They are so pretty, like giant bulbs of Christmas lights, and add that subtle punch of taste and color to any salad. I think I'm going to get a crop in mid-summer for harvest in the Fall. Yep, you can have radishes even in the Fall and I've even heard their flavor really shines then too.
To be honest this salad was not really measured out, it's more of a suggested portion size. Feel free to play around with adding in more or less strawberry, radish, or avocado to you preference. You can prepare the dressing a day or two in advance and store tightly covered in the fridge. If you want to make the salad ahead of time I would only do it the morning before and then dress the salad right before serving for optimal freshness.
Spinach Strawberry & Radish Salad
serves 4
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinagar
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon raw honey
2 spring onions or green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 cups spinach, washed and dried
1/2 bunch roughly chopped radishes
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped strawberries
1/2 avocado
In a small bowl combine the garlic, vinegar, oil, and honey. Whisk in the spring onions, chives, and salt and pepper to emulsify and set aside.
In a large bowl toss together the spinach, radishes, strawberries, and avocado. Add the dressing and toss to combine well and serve.
Last year we planted radishes (dont ask me why) and I never knew how to eat them..thank you for sharing your beautiful idea :)
ReplyDeleteYou need to add sliced almonds too =). Excluding the radishes, we make this salad all the time. It's perfect for summer and tastes amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful looking salad. I bet it didn't taste too bad either!
ReplyDeleteAs a northern dweller myself, I feel your pain. I have been doing whatever I can with them now that they are, finally, here. Cheers to our bounty finally coming in!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of combining strawberries and radishes but the result looks amazing. It really is one of the great joys of life to eat according to nature's schedule, no matter how late or short!
ReplyDeleteAll of those ingredients, except for the avocado of course, came in this week's CSA box. Sounds good to me! Also, radishes are so ridiculously easy to grow. You just put the seeds in the ground, remember to water them every so often, and then, boom!, a month later, radishes!
ReplyDeleteyummy :) I have been seeing so many strawberries in salads lately. I have to give it a try
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