Countdown to Strawberry Season with Balsamic Glazed Berry Salad
It’s hard to believe that strawberry season is only 4-6 weeks away but watch carefully or it may pass you by. The season is so short that we suggest putting your local pick-your-own berry farm on speed dial so you don’t miss it.
When the season finally arrives be sure to dig in deeply (but pick carefully) and grace your meals with strawberries in as many ways as you can. That’s our plan for late May-late June in CT.
For state by state info. on where to pick berries along with handy harvest calendars be sure to click here.
For a healthy and super easy balsamic glazed strawberry salad, courtesy of Robin Selden, Marcia Selden Catering and Event Planning, scroll down for the recipe. Pleasantly acidic balsamic glaze and champagne vinegar are softened with rich hazelnuts and salty feta, making this one of our favorite salads.
Head’s up: We’re preparing a round-up of some of our favorite cookbooks for you to consider buying for your Mom, Grandma, Savta, sister or loving aunt for Mother’s Day.
We’ll include this one now since it’s where we found the only strawberry shortcake recipe we’ll ever need (mentioned above). You don’t have to be from CT or even New England to love this celebration of local, seasonal recipes from the Nutmeg state’s top chefs.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog. We really appreciate your purchases and only recommend products that we are familiar with and in most cases, use.
Balsamic Glazed Strawberry Salad
Serving: 2
Type: Dairy
Author: Robin Selden
Once strawberry season is upon us we want to highlight them in as many ways as possible. The season is as short as 4 weeks so get out there to pick ’em, if you can. You’ll forget the wooden berries of winter in no time.
See post above for links to pick-your-own farms across the USA.Ingredients:
For the Champagne Vinaigrette:
1 Shallot, minced
2 T Dijon Mustard
¼ C Champagne Vinegar
2 T Fresh Lemon Juice
½ t Kosher Salt
½ t Freshly Ground Black Pepper
½ C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 T Chopped Parsley
4 Strawberries, leaves cut off and thinly sliced vertically
4 t Balsamic Glaze plus 1 t Balsamic Glaze, reserved for plate
2 handfuls Baby Greens
2 T Champagne Vinaigrette
4 T Feta Cheese, crumbled
4 T Cracked Toasted Hazelnuts
For the champagne vinaigrette, whisk together the shallot, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and paper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Sprinkle in chopped parsley.To make the salad, mix together the sliced strawberries and 4 teaspoons balsamic glaze. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the baby greens and the champagne vinaigrette. Align along the outer edge of the plates, as shown. Scatter the strawberries around the greens, and then top with the feta cheese and cracked hazelnuts. Take the leftover balsamic glaze and place dots of it on the plates to garnish.