Summer

[madbaker]

This week's Resolution Recipe: Spinach and Strawberry Salad.

1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water
pinch salt & pepper
2 tsp poppy seeds
6 oz baby spinach
1/2 cup toasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped hazelnuts
4 oz crumbled goat cheese

Chop 1/4 cup of the strawberries and transfer to a blender. Slice the remaining strawberries and set aside.
In the blender, puree the 1/4 cup strawberries, vinegar, oil, water, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add the poppy seeds and pulse a couple times to combine. Toss the spinach and strawberry dressing in a large bowl. Add the hazelnuts and reserved strawberries and toss again. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and serve at once.

What worked: This was a good summer salad. Filling and satisfied the mouthfeel without too much fat. The dressing looked kind of brownish-nasty due to the balsamic, but against the green spinach recovered much of its redness.

What didn't: Skinning the hazelnuts took a ridiculously long time. So long in fact that everything else was put together before they went into the toaster oven. The reason the recipe suggests serving immediately is that the goat cheese starts to glop if you don't. Which it did.

Will I make it again? Probably.

Comments

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I was gonna say "I toasted and skinned hazelnuts once. Once was enough" - but then I looked again at what you said. Did you seriously skin 'em before you toasted 'em?

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Yeah - normally if you throw them in a bit of boiling water with baking soda the skins come right off. Not this time, though.