Spinach Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese

[catharine]

It sounded kind of strange when I found it on the recipe finder, but the reviews for the Spinach Strawberry Salad were so excellent I figured I would try it.

I am not a huge strawberry fan, but I love spinach, goat cheese, and well, sweet dressings.

This was *sooooo awesome*. I loved it. It is such a nice mix of flavors. What's more, it looks so fancy. I am going to be eating this one all summer long. Can't wait for my next pot luck or dinner party to roll this one out.

[BTW, the reviews said the bruscetta wasn't essential so I skipped it and threw the goat cheese in with the lettuce and strawberries].

Here's the recipe:

The sweetness of the strawberries and salad dressing contrasts with the garlic bread's pungent goat-cheese flavor.


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Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sherry or white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced red onion
3/4 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups torn spinach (about 1 pound)
2 cups halved strawberries
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
1 (3-ounce) log goat cheese, cut into 6 slices
6 (1-ounce) slices French bread, toasted


Directions
Estimated Total Time: 35 minutes

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a jar; cover dressing tightly, and shake vigorously.

Combine the spinach and strawberry halves in a large bowl, and toss gently. Pour the dressing over the spinach mixture, tossing gently to coat. Spoon 1 cup salad onto each of 6 plates; sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon toasted almonds. Spread cheese over toast slices; top each salad with 1 bruschetta.

Six servings: Nutrition Facts
(per Serving): 213 calories; 31 g carbohydrates; 13 mg chol; 6.7 g fat; 446 mg sodium; 7.1 g protein; 163 g calcium; 2.7 g iron; 4.5 g fiber

[SHERRY]

This is one of our favorite salads...It is from 1998...We have been making it ever since it was published...and still loving it...like you, we skip the bruchetta part too http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Glad you found a keeper!

[dmcgreevey]

I just made this on Sat and it was awesome!!!

[woodsl]

I love this too. I have made it too many times to count (also skip the bruscetta and throw the cheese in with salad). It is good with lettuce, mixed greens or spinach. I have also substituted Feta cheese for the Goat cheese, and walnuts or toasted pine nuts for the almonds. And, when strawberries are not in season, I substitute chopped granny smith apples or ripe pears. Guests at dinner parties or pot luck dinners are always impressed.

[This message has been edited by woodsl (edited 04-23-2001).]

[Peggy]

Catharine,

Thank you SOOOO much for posting this recipe. It is by far the best CL salad recipe I have ever made!!! I had planned on making the Spinach Strawberry Salad in the May'01 issue tonight but after seeing your post and all of the positive reviews I changed my mind.

I also skipped the brushetta and used feta cheese instead of goat cheese.

Awesome!

Peggy

[kwormann]

It sounds incredible..I LOVE spinach and strawberry salads!

Kim

[catharine]

You're welcome, Peggy. My pleasure. I get so much from this board. Ever since I joined (in February) I have been cooking and baking like crazy, and making the best food ever. I am so addicted to this board. I am glad to be able to share my successes http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Terrytx]

Very good! I don't often make things twice, but this one will be made again and again. Awesome is right.

[Linda in MO]

I made this last week and we loved it! Like others I skipped the brushetta and also used feta. I used a combo of leaf lettuce out of our garden and fresh spinach. And I caramelized my almonds (3-4 T.), too.

[Laura]

I also have to add my favorable reviews. I also opted for the feta and used toasted walnuts instead of the almonds. It was wonderful. I made it for our CL supper club and everyone loved it. Definitely one that will be repeated frequently.

[ElinorC]

I think this recipe will be repeated many times. Even DH thought it was excellent and he doesn't usually like a sweet dressing. Thanks for calling it to my attention.

[Julie in AZ]

For those of you that used goat cheese without the bruschetta, how did you include the goat cheese? I made this last night and when I put the goat cheese in the salad, it just kind of melted in. It tasted great, but it didn't look very pretty.

[Colleen]

Also, What is hungarian sweet paprika?
Is this common?

[Julie O]

Hungarian sweet paprika is made from different red peppers than the standard paprika. It is sweeter and less spicy than the standard. I found mine at my regular grocery store. It was in a large tin can.

[Peggy]

I just have to add that I made this again tonight and it is out of this world! Those of you that haven't tried it really should... I used feta cheese and toasted pine nuts. Delicious!

Peggy

[Mousie29]

Love it! This one will be a regular and very impressive/tasty for guests.

Love the brushetta (sp?); it reminds me of France.

I, also, used mixed greens.

thanks for the post - I never would have known! What a winner.

[gertdog]

Had to resurrect this recipe and add my two cents... YUM!

Made it for our supper club this weekend. Skipped the bread and crumbled feta (instead of goat cheese) directly into the salad. I used a 10 oz. package of baby spinach (which I measured out and it was 6 cups). Everyone absolutely loved it. Two people commented that the toasted almonds really added a good flavor and texture to the salad.

I have more spinach and feta in the fridge, so I'm going to stop at the market for strawberries on the way home tonight.

Awesome recipe, and it's the perfect time of year to enjoy it! :)

[amcleod]

Cat, too funny - I am making this tomorrow. Actually, Anita made it at my very first supper club which is why I thought of it! You don't remember? It was when we met at Amy McPs and I introduced you to pork tenderloin.

OH....DUHR i just went back and realized that your post was dated 2001! silly silly me

[mmtibbs]

Ok, here's my DUH question of the day. As I reread the recipe I wondered did they mean sherry (as in plain old dry sherry) or did they mean sherry vinegar (I don't even know if there is such a thing.)

I mixed up the dressing earlier today using plain ol' dry sherry, but now I'm wondering if I misunderstood. I haven't tasted it yet.

[Grace]

mmtibbs, they did indeed mean Sherry Vinegar. It's somewhat difficult to find (I live in a BIG city, and only found it at Whole Foods), and kind of pricey (although not outrageous or anything), and it comes from Spain. But it's worth searching out and finding if you can.

I don't know how your dressing will taste in comparison having used the regular sherry, probably not bad, but not as good as it could be. The vinegar is the "acidic" portion of the dressing, and regular sherry probably wouldn't be acidic enough, but again, it probably won't be bad. Let us know how it turns out with the sherry.

And if you can't find sherry vinegar in your area, try www.ethnicgrocer.com

I'm sure they carry it too.

[mmtibbs]

Grace--

Well, we just finished our salads with plain ol' sherry and you predicted just right--the dressing was emininently edible--but missing the "tang" of the vinegar. I have a Whole Foods just 20 minutes away, and will seek out sherry vinegar as the salad itself is wonderful!

Thanks!

[RD chef]

I make a salad that is quite similar - Spinach and strawberries, but with feta and mapled pecans. The dressing uses raspberry vinegar instead of sherry vinegar. Here is the recipe if anyone is interested.

10 oz fresh spinach (or mixed greens)
3 oz pecans, halved
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil (I used 2 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp water)
feta cheese (to taste)

Drizzle a little maple syrup over pecans and bake at 325 for 5-10 min.
Mix the salad dressing ingredients and pour over strawberries, spinach and greens. Add pecans and toss.
Enjoy!

[Linda in MO]

Oooh, RD Chef that salad looks fantastic!! I think mandarin oranges would also be good in this. Then you could use some of the drained juice for half of the oil.

[Jeanygirl]

There were several threads on this salad, and I just picked one at random to ressurect. It being spinach season in Iowa, I bought a whole bunch at the Farmer's Market and made this salad, which is amazing! YUM!! I nearly ate the whole thing myself while writing an epidemiology paper...

I sprinkled toasted hazelnuts on top instead of the suggested almonds :) Mmmmh.. too good.

I want to try it again with the bruschetta, but we'll see.. I may not have the patience for that!

[Goldie]

Question for anyone who has made this salad - are the dressing ingredient amounts correct? Seems like a very tiny bit of liquid. Did you have enough dressing?

[KimberlyS]

I thought the dressing was more than enough, but I don't like my greens to be smothered. Adding the goat cheese directly to the salad also adds more to the...wetness (I guess, I can't think of the proper word), as it gets all melty. YUM!

[gaja]

I often make a very similar salad using aragula instead of spinach and using pepper-crusted goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts. Yum! :)

[catharine]

Originally posted by Goldie
Question for anyone who has made this salad - are the dressing ingredient amounts correct? Seems like a very tiny bit of liquid. Did you have enough dressing?

You raise a good point - I actually don't think there is enough dressing and I usually double the dressing. It is sooo yummy - but I am a sugar fiend :)

[karen w]

I made this last night for the first time, and everyone loved it! I do have a question about the dressing, though. Although it tasted quite good, I was disturbed that the sugar does not dissolve at all(at least, mine did not). The undissolved sugar makes the dressing seem gritty, and I did not like "chewing" my dressing. Have others had the same experience? Or do you use more liquid? Heat it up? I'd be curious to hear what other people have to say!

Oh yah, I did not do the bruschetta and forgot to get the cheese at the store:rolleyes: so I made parmesan cheese crackers and crumbled them over the salad. Take parmesan(the real stuff:) ), plop(that's a cooking term!) a tablespoon into a nonstick skillet heated to medium, cook ~3min on each side, cool....it hardens into a little crispy cracker that you can crumble on salads etc... or just eat as is and it is oh so YUMMY!!

Karen

[krispy spo]

I made this for the first time on Easter and we loved it! I doubled the dressing amounts and tossed the goat cheese in with the salad. It took some effort to get the sugar to dissolve. I made the dressing the day before and stirred it an awful lot to get it all to dissolve, then I had to do it all over again before I served it.

Karen, those parmesan crisps sound awesome!

[Julia1Pin]

Wow! This sounds perfect for a Mothers Day BBQ! I think I'm going to use real mozarella because that's what I have.

[greta]

julia1pin,

i don't know if you'll look at the boards before tomorrow's bbq, but i would highly recommend using goat cheese or feta instead of the mozarella (if you're going to pass on the bruschetta, and put the cheese directly into the salad).

why? well, the goat/feta will "meld" ;) nicely with the dressing and spinach and it really adds to the flavor of the salad, IMHO.

however, if you do decide to use the mozarella, i'd love to hear how you like it!

have fun!
greta

[Julia1Pin]

OK - I gave in and used goat cheese :D

I haven't tried it yet but I made it today for mothers day and everyone said it was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!

Thanks for the recipe.

[jjsooner73]

I made this last night and it was delicious!

I skipped the bruschetta and just added some crumbled goat cheese.
I also subbed rice wine vinegar but added a dash of sherry. I didn't have poppy seeds, so omitted them. I also added just a little extra red onion to the salad.

A definite repeater-I had purshased a huge bag of farmer's market spinach for $1 and also some strawberries and this was a wonderful way to use them.