Spinach & Frisée Salad with French Baguette topped with Goat Cheese and Strawberry Swirl
Jul 07, 2016, Updated Apr 15, 2025
It’s Strawberry Season and I’ve created three recipes: 30 Minute Strawberry Jam, Spinach & Spinach & Frisée Salad with French Baguette topped with Goat Cheese and Strawberry Swirl – and a zesty Strawberry Vinaigrette.
I’ve Reinvented a Classic French Salad!
Where a slice of garlic rubbed baguette slice is topped with goat cheese (baked until warmed through) and sits on top of greens with a vinaigrette dressing.
Adding Strawberry Jam to the Goat Cheese
Adds a pop of color and natural sweetness! Complementary lettuces I chose are spinach, frisee and microgreens. The Strawberry Vinaigrette has a dash of zest from garlic and chipotle powder… necessary to balance the sweetness of fresh strawberries, which are sliced and added to the greens.
It’s peak season for picking strawberries, as pints and quarts lined up on tables at farmers’ markets look like plump, shiny jewels. They taste better than supermarket varieties, with a deeper color inside and a condensed, natural sweetness. I tested making pectin free jam with these locally grown berries, and the leading organic supermarket variety (shipped from California.)
The locally grown variety produced a darker jam, full of natural fruit flavor. The best supermarket variety was lighter in color, still delicious, but not as luscious. I added chia seeds to the latter, with vanilla bean paste for a protein and flavor boost. My 30 Minute Strawberry Jam recipe teaches both varieties.
Give jam a try! Just stir the best strawberries you can find with some natural cane sugar, (less sugar than commercial varieties) and slather on your morning toast, or in these three master recipes.
Using pectin in jam means you have to use a higher proportion of sugar to ensure the chemical action required to thicken the fruit will take place. Nearly all commercial jams and jellies use pectin. Sugar is cheaper than fruit, products containing pectin don’t have to cook as long, and the final yield is higher because you aren’t cooking off as much moisture.
NO PECTIN necessary in my jam!
Indulge in the pleasure of in season strawberries – their high vitamin C content, is said to contain free-radical fighting compounds called anthocyanins that are the true all-star health components of the fruit.
Enjoy!
Karen
Spinach & Frisée Salad with French Baguette topped with Goat Cheese and Strawberry Swirl
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed and dried, torn
- 1 cup frisée lettuce, washed and dried, torn
- 1/3 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned, dried, hulled and sliced
- 1/4 cup watermelon radish, cleaned, sliced thinly (or breakfast radishes)
- 1/4 cup microgreens
- 4 slices french baugette, 1/3″ slices
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 fresh garlic clove, peeled
- 3 ounces goat cheese, portioned into 4 pieces
- 2 teaspoons strawberry jam, (see recipe)
- 1/3 cup Strawberry Vinaigrette, (see recipe below)
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Vinaigrette & 30 Minute Strawberry Jam (see below)
For Individual Salads:
- Place 4 large salad bowls on your work surface. Portion spinach and frisee lettuce in each bowl. Add sliced strawberries, watermelon radishes, and microgreens.
Baguette ~ with Goat Cheese & Strawberry Swirl:
- Set broiler to high. Place the 4 baguette slices in a tray, brush bread with olive oil. Broil 6 inches from the heat source until crisp and golden, about 30 seconds. Immediately rub the warm toast with the raw garlic all over. Roll each goat cheese portion to fit onto of each baguette slice, top each.
When Serving:
- Place the cheese topped baguette in the oven, on the bottom rack, until warmed through, 1 -2 minutes. Remove from the oven, add 1/2 t. strawberry jam on top of the goat cheese on each baguette and swirl in.
- Add Strawberry Vinaigrette to each salad, top with the cheese toast and serve.
Optional add-ins:
- Crispy bacon (I use turkey bacon) Toasted nuts: pine nuts, almonds or pecans. Grilled protein (herbed chicken or shrimp)
Notes
Recipe: Karen’s 30 Minute Strawberry Jam (no pectin) (Nutritional facts include time for salad & baguette.) This recipe can not be reproduced without the permission of its author, Karen Sheer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
