Spinach salad with strawberries is sweet, salty, tangy and tart all at the same time. It is truly the taste of early summer.
Spinach salad with strawberries and poppyseed dressing. One of those fruity salads that I don’t usually go for. I’m more into fresh greens and a mustard vinaigrette.
But this one is really good. The creaminess of the avocado against the bright strawberries and the tangy sweet dressing. It just works.
It’s a celebration of strawberries. Don’t make this when strawberries are out of season. Please. Make it when they are at their peak. When strawberries taste sweet and the juices run down your chin.
That’s when it’s time to make spinach salad with strawberries and poppyseed dressing. I can pretty much guarantee that if you try to make this with half green dead of winter strawberries it’s going to suck. Like – “This salad would be way better without the strawberries” sucks.
In fact, I bet this salad would work well in winter without the strawberries. Something I need to try out.
It’s incredibly simple to make. And you can do it all pretty much in advance. Cut the avocados before you serve. Other than that make it all ahead of time. Makes it great for dinner parties. Zero cooking time. Flashy starter. Perfect.
The poppyseed dressing is a fine standalone condiment on its own. Try it with mixed greens. Or any spinach based salad, really.
It’s called spinach salad with strawberries and poppyseed dressing. Doesn’t mean it has to be exactly that. Mix it up. Pine nuts work. Walnuts too. Ditch the strawberries and add bacon and egg. Change up the cheese. Have fun with it. Make it your own.
Any way you make it, this is one of those salads that are a celebration of food in season. It’s something you really need to eat when strawberries are at their peak. Life’s too short for bad food.
spinach salad with strawberries and poppyseed dressing
Ingredients
The salad
- 6 cups baby spinach
- 1 or 2 large ripe avocados , chopped
- 1/2 cup red onion chopped and rinsed under cold water
- a handful of honey roasted almonds - you can use whatever nuts you like
- 2 cups strawberries - halved or quartered - depends on the size of the berry
- 4 tbsp feta - crumbled
Poppyseed dressing
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 shallot grated on a microplane
- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
Poppyseed dressing
- Combine all ingredients except the oil. Stir to combine. You want the sugar mostly dissolved in the vinegar.
- Drizzle the oil in while stirring.
- Let the dressing sit for a while to let the poppy seeds hydrate.
The salad
- Combine the salad ingredients and toss with about half the dressing. Taste and adjust the dressing to suit your palate. I like a bit more than half. You may like more.
