Receta Strawberry Spinach Salad
Did
you know May is National Strawberry month?
Neither did I. But a couple of weeks ago, I was
left with a clamshell half-filled with beautiful Driscoll strawberries that I
didn’t want to see going to waste. Driscoll is not a species of
strawberry. It’s a privately held company in Watsonville, California that’s been
owned by the same family for over 100 years now. It has a huge payroll, employing over 40,000
people around the world developing, growing and harvesting all kinds of
berries: Raspberries, Blackberries, Blueberries and, of course, Strawberries
both organic and conventionally grown.
It’s also a company with a shining history of giving back: After World War II, Driscoll’s helped
Japanese Americans, newly released from the internment camps they were held in,
become sharecroppers for the company.
And Driscoll is a major supporter of Natividad Medical Center in
Salinas, CA where it provides translators for speakers of Central America’s indigenous
languages: Zapotec, Mixteco and Triqui. Driscoll is one of those companies
I feel privileged to buy from.
I
practically grew up on this piece of wisdom: Waste not, want not. Now had Andrew been around, I am sure we
could have had something strawberry for a dessert. I can still taste his take on Joanne Chang’s
Strawberry Shortcakes
(http://www.chewingthefat.us.com/2013/06/joanne-changs-balsamic-strawberry.html). But Andrew was in Texas and I am not the
baker he is. Instead I searched for a
savory recipe involving strawberries. I
landed on one that’s the amalgamation of several. The main ingredients, baby spinach and
strawberries, are combined with the tang of Feta cheese, the slightest bit of
red onion and toasted pine nuts for crunch.
(You can substitute glazed walnuts for the pine nuts and save a small
fortune). To dress the salad, I came
upon a recipe from a Chef Luis Protti who cooks at the Pura Vida Spa in Costa
Rica. It’s a very simple vinaigrette with
that gets its sweetness from brown sugar and for a little oomph,
there’s the
surprise of a little paprika. Since I served this as a dinner
salad, I topped it with seared sirloin strips.
I could have just as easily used chicken in the same fashion. But the salad, all by itself, is
perfect. And I can hardly wait to make
this this summer with our local berries.
But that will be some weeks from now even with “Pick Strawberries Day”
coming up on the 20th of this month just before “National
Strawberries and Cream Day” on the 21st. Here is the recipe:
Recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad
Serves 4. Takes under 15 minutes to make.
- 1 lb. Washed Baby Spinach
- 1 pint of fresh Strawberries,
- hulled and halved
- ¼ red onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. Feta Cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup toasted Pine Nuts or Glazed
- Walnuts
- ¼ cup neutral vegetable oil like
- Canola
- 1/8 cup White Wine Vinegar
- ¼ tsp. paprika
1.
Make
the dressing. Pour oil into a small mixing bowl, then whisk
in vinegar and sugar until blended. Add paprika then salt to taste.
2.
In a large serving
bowl, pour vinaigrette over spinach and fruit and toss to completely coat.
Serve immediately.