Strawberry salad

Strawberry salad

30 min
Strawberries are practically perfect in every single way, even in a salad! These bright red beautiful berries are perfect when paired with delicious, grilled vegetables, fresh and crunchy lettuce, and tangy salad cheese, adding a sweet flavour that complements these other ingredients perfectly. The combination of tender and crispy textures as well as sweet, fresh, and salty flavours makes this summer salad with balsamic vinaigrette a stand-out side dish for a large summer party as well as a quiet family dinner on the patio.
https://arlauk.cmsstage.com/recipes/strawberry-salad/

Instructions

Strawberry salad dressing
  • Place sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let the tomatoes soak for about 2 minutes.
  • Add strawberries, balsamic vinegar, cane sugar, salt, and pepper and blend the dressing until the tomatoes are well chopped.
  • Cover the dressing and put it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Season it to taste.
Grilled vegetables
  • Heat a grill pan – this should take about 4 minutes on high heat.
  • Coat the onions and asparagus with oil.
  • Grill the onions for about 5 minutes on each side (about 10 minutes in total).
  • Take the onions out of the pan and grill the asparagus in the same way for about 2 minutes on each side.
Strawberry salad
  • Arrange the lettuce, pearled spelt, grilled vegetables, and strawberries on a large serving dish. 
  • Pour the dressing over it. 
  • Mash the cheese lightly and sprinkle it on top.
Recommended information

Serving Suggestion

Air fryer salmon
45 min
Air fryer salmon
(0)
Enjoy!
Tips

It is important not to overdress the salad. Though the homemade strawberry salad dressing is incredibly tasty, adding too much can make it soggy and overpower the different ingredients’ delicate flavours.

Tips

Add the vinaigrette dressing gradually and toss well before adding more. If you have leftover dressing, the rich vinaigrette also works well with other types of salads or as a dressing sauce for seafood dishes, grilled meats, and barbeque vegetables.

Questions about strawberry salad

To learn more about our delicious, fresh, and fruity strawberry salad, read our answers to the most frequently asked questions about it below.

How to make a strawberry salad?
A homemade strawberry salad with cheese and grilled vegetables makes for a delicious summer side dish to enjoy outside in the wonderful weather. Start by making the vinaigrette. While its flavours are allowed to marry in the fridge, heat a grill pan. Coat the red onions and asparagus with olive oil and grill them in the pan. Then arrange lettuce, grilled asparagus, red onion, boiled pearled spelt, and strawberries in a big dish. Pour the dressing and toss the salad before sprinkling with lightly crumbled cheese for a finishing touch.
How to make a strawberry salad dressing?
A great salad, of course, needs a great dressing to tie everything together! To make a delicious strawberry salad vinaigrette, soak the sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water to rehydrate and tender them. They also become easier to blend, which is exactly what you should do after mixing them with strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. The sun-dried tomatoes should be well chopped so you get a thick vinaigrette dressing. Cover it and place it in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to marry. Season it to taste before using it.
What to serve with strawberry salad?
You can serve the homemade strawberry salad with various delicious sides. Grilled chicken, shrimp, or white fish like cod or tilapia would complement the flavours and smoky taste of the grilled vegetables well without overpowering the flavours of the salad. You can also serve it with additional grilled vegetables like courgettes, peppers, or corn on the cob. A baguette or crusty bread would be nice to sop up the creamy dressing.

Ingredients

Strawberry salad dressing
Sun-dried tomatoes, cut into thin strips
25 g
Boiling water (Approx.)
3 tbsp
Rinsed strawberries
50 g
Dark balsamic vinegar
2 tsp
Cane sugar (approx.)
½ tsp
Coarse salt (approx.)
¼ tsp
Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
Grilled vegetables
Pealed red onions (approx. 400 g), cut into halves
6
Rinsed green asparagus
250 g
Olive oil
1 tbsp
Strawberry salad
Romaine lettuce, torn into large chunks
75 g
Boiled pearled spelt or other grains (approx. 150 g uncooked pearled spelt)
350 g
Strawberries, cut into thick slices
200 g
White Apetina® 50% Less Fat Original White Cheese cubes
200 g
Served with:
Wholemeal bread
200 g

Summer strawberry salad with salad cheese

Since we eat with our eyes as much as with our mouths, a colourful strawberry salad is sure to bring a smile to everyone's face. The mix of colours – red, green, purple, and white – serves as a beautiful display of all the bounties summer has to offer. So too does the combination of different tastes and textures that are brimming with both freshness and BBQ flavour.

The best strawberry salad features a range of delicious produce and this one is no exception. The fresh, crispy lettuce and sweet and tender strawberries are joined by grilled red onion and asparagus as well as pearled spelt to create a filling meal tossed with a rich and creamy dressing. To brighten the dish, we have added salad cheese to introduce a bit of salt and tang into its overall flavour profile.

If you like the idea of using deliciously ripe summer fruits in your salads, we recommend having a look at our recipe for salad with melon and cucumber, summer salad, or grilled peach salad as well.

Sweet and creamy dressing for strawberry salad

A great dressing can tie all the different flavours together to create a harmonious dish. It must, as such, both balance and offset the flavour profile of the dish. This is why a strawberry salad with balsamic vinegar dressing is such a great match. With our recipe for strawberry salad dressing, you get a vibrant addition in terms of taste as well as colour.

This creamy, slightly chunky, dark red dressing with sun-dried tomatoes, strawberries, and balsamic vinegar has a multifaceted flavour profile with sweet and tangy undertones that mirror those of the salad itself. The richness and syrupy consistency brought to it through the balsamic vinegar makes it a good dressing for strawberry salad as it perfectly balances the freshness of the ingredients while adding complexity.

Enjoy a delicious smoked flavour from grilled asparagus and onion

This strawberry salad becomes even greater with the addition of grilled vegetables. Pan-grilling the vegetables at high heat gives them a smoky flavour and allows them to char slightly. This develops a slightly crispy texture. The heat causes the sugars and amino acids in the vegetables to react and create a caramelised crust, adding a rich, browned, savoury, and slightly smoky flavour, giving any grilled food that special taste that makes it so delicious.

In this red onion, asparagus, and strawberry salad, the grilled vegetables add a bit of crunch as they are a bit crispy on the outside, while they remain juicy and tender on the inside. The smoky flavour enhances the natural earthy and nutty flavours of the asparagus, while the red onion is caramelised and gains a sweet richness that pairs well with the fresh lettuce and strawberries.

Serve with grilled meat or vegetables and crusty bread

Though it is deliciously filling on its own, you may want to serve the homemade strawberry salad with some delicious sides. This way you can serve it to a larger gathering of friends or family if you are throwing a garden party or decide to bring it to a summer potluck or picnic.

Grilled chicken would be a great side to this fresh strawberry salad, as it will introduce a wonderful savouriness. The smoky flavour of the grilled chicken will also complement the sweetness of the strawberries and mirror those of the grilled vegetables. If you prefer seafood, grilled fish or shrimp would also work well. A mild white fish like cod or tilapia would be an excellent choice, as it will not overpower the flavours of the salad itself.

Since the mixed green strawberry salad itself contains some grilled red onions and asparagus, you could also serve additional grilled veggies on the side. Some ideas include grilled courgettes, peppers like piementos de padrón, or corn on the cob with chilli butter.

Finally, a baguette or other types of crusty bread would be a nice addition, as it gives you something to sop up the deliciously creamy strawberry salad dressing with. In addition, it provides another texture to create contrast and make the eating experience more interesting.

Make it your own

A quick way to mix things up is to add nuts. Toasted almonds make for a great addition. They provide a nice crunch and a tasty nutty flavour. Walnuts are also a good option. These nuts have a slightly bitter flavour that pairs well with the sweetness of the strawberries. Pine nuts are great, too, as they have a buttery and slightly sweet flavour that pairs well with the red berries.

Another great way to incorporate crunchy textures is to add croutons. Making your own is wonderfully easy and allows you to flavour them in any way you like. It is also a great way to make stale bread tasty anew.

Lastly, you can add new potatoes instead of or in addition to the pearled spelt to give it more texture and make it heartier. As opposed to matured ones, new potatoes have a mild and slightly sweet taste with a creamy texture and thin, delicate skin.