The flavor of this salad sparkles with the bright acidity of red wine vinegar, it's tartness tempered by the sweetness of fresh orange juice. Roasting strawberries with a bit of sugar intensifies their flavor and softens their texture, creating a nice accent to the salty cheese and crunchy toasted almonds. The taste is just phenomenal and it comes together beautifully! This spinach and strawberry salad is an excellent choice if you want to try something original and different that is just incredible.
Excellent and very unique recipe....the tarragon is a nice touch! With minimum effort you can create a salad that is impressive with maximum taste.
Ingredients
2 pints large strawberries (1 lb. total)
8 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
4 tsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup blanched slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
9 cups baby spinach
5 oz. Pecorino Romano cheese, shredded
What To Do
Preheat an oven to 400°F.
Using a paring knife, hull the strawberries and cut them in half lengthwise. Spread the berries on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 Tbs. of the olive oil and sprinkle with the 2 tsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. of the salt and several grinds of pepper. Toss to coat the berries evenly, then spread them out again. Roast until softened, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
Using a paring knife, hull the strawberries and cut them in half lengthwise. Spread the berries on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 Tbs. of the olive oil and sprinkle with the 2 tsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. of the salt and several grinds of pepper. Toss to coat the berries evenly, then spread them out again. Roast until softened, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
In a small nonreactive bowl, whisk together the vinegar, orange juice, tarragon, the 1 Tbs. sugar, 3/4 tsp. of the salt and several grinds of pepper; keep whisking until the sugar dissolves. Slowly whisk in the remaining 6 Tbs. olive oil until well blended to make a vinaigrette. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
In a small bowl, stir together the almonds and 1/4 tsp. of the salt. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and several grinds of pepper. Whisk the vinaigrette to recombine, drizzle about one-third of it over the spinach and toss well (reserve the remaining vinaigrette for another use). Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Divide the dressed spinach evenly among individual plates, top each serving with an equal amount of the roasted strawberries, and sprinkle with the almonds and cheese. Serve immediately. Serves 6.
*Watch your strawberries closely while roasting. Be ready to pull them out of the oven quickly, they roast faster than you might think...no more than 10 minutes! If you have never tried roasted strawberries you are in for a REAL TREAT! Double this recipe and keep the extra on hand to make delicious ice cream sundaes.
Try the roasted strawberries....you'll be glad you did!
Enjoy!
the domestic curator ~ ronda
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