Spring Strawberry Salad with Walnuts, Feta and Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette

5 from 1 vote
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Seasonal Lettuces and Vegetables team with the Juiciest Strawberries with the perfect Zesty Vinaigrette

A wonderful plant based salad with just-in-season May-June vegetables and strawberries.
I love this plant based salad with just-in-season May-June vegetables and strawberries. I’ve added walnuts for crunch and sliced feta cheese – both add interest and protein.
Add your favorite grilled proteins, grains or beans as well!
Spring Strawberry Salad with Walnuts, Feta and Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette
Spring Strawberry Salad with Walnuts, Feta and Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette
Spring Strawberry Salad with Walnuts, Feta and Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette
Freshly picked Strawberries from Newgate Farms, Windsor CT
These strawberries have incredible sweetness and are red through and through, not white inside like supermarket ones.
Strawberries are a great source of fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants. They are low in sugar and calories, and provide a unique combination of essential nutrients, dietary fiber and phytochemicals.
The perfect dressing: Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette
The perfect zesty dressing: Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette
A homemade whisked vinaigrette tops the salad. Start by stirring minced shallots and grated garlic with sherry vinegar, pure maple syrup, sea salt and a few cranks of pepper. Whisk in a neutral oil of your liking… and some walnut oil for flavor and depth.

Red butter lettuce, which I have used, is very similar to green butter lettuce but with reddish leaves. Butter lettuce forms cup-shaped leaves that are loose and delicate. The flavor of butter lettuce as its name suggest is buttery and slightly sweet.

Butter lettuce, or butterhead, is one of the four main types of annual lettuce, widely available in the United States, along with leaf, crisphead and romaine varieties. There are a number of butter lettuce varieties, all of which feature loose heads of sweet, mild, tender leaves that can be described as “buttery and sweet.”
The two most widely known and available types of butter lettuce in the United States are “Boston” and “Bibb.”

Enjoy this healthful salad!
Karen

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5 from 1 vote

Spring Strawberry Salad with Walnuts, Feta and Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette

Servings: 4 servings
Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Summer Strawberry Salad with Walnuts, Feta and Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette in a square bowl
Seasonal Spring Lettuces and Vegetables team with the Juiciest Strawberries with the perfect Zesty Vinaigrette!

Ingredients 

Strawberry Salad:

  • 4 cups ruby boston lettuce leaves, or other tender lettuces
  • 2/3 cups strawberries, sliced (see recipe)
  • 1/4 cup breakfast radishes, very thinly sliced (can use a peeler)
  • 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced, look for purple scallions in season
  • 1 cup sunflower sprouts
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
  • 1/3 cup yellow pear tomatoes, or other small colorful tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup feta cheese, sliced then torn

Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette:

  • 1 tablespoon shallots,  peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, peeled, finely grated or minced
  • 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 5 grates black pepper
  • 1/3 cup neutral oil, such as expeller pressed safflower oil
  • 1 tablespoon walnut oil

Instructions 

Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette:

  • In a small non-reactive bowl, add shallots, garlic, vinegar, salt, maple syrup and black pepper. Mix with a small whisk – set aside for 10 minutes to macerate the flavors. Can add 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard too.
  • Add both oils to a measuring cup. Slowly add the oils in a stream, whisking constantly until half is emulsified. Continue streaming in the oil – can go a little faster now until emulsified.
    Store in a clean glass sterile container in the refrigerator if not using right away.

Salad:

  • In a large bowl, or on individual plates, add the ingredients – starting with the lettuce: can use full leaves or tear them - and then layer the rest. Strawberries: wash and dry the berries, hull them (remove tops) and slice thinly.
    Look for very ripe berries, but not soft.

Serve:

  • Drizzle all over with the Maple-Walnut Vinaigrette.
    For a heartier salad, add your favorite grilled proteins, grains or beans as well!

Notes

This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 9gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 309mgPotassium: 779mgFiber: 6gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 7964IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 183mgIron: 7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: First Course & Sides, Salad
Cuisine: American
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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I really loved this salad! Bought wonderful strawberries and was looking for a recipe. This was pretty simple and delicious. My family ate it up! Really enjoyed how to make a dressing with flavor, and even bought a good bottle of sherry vinegar. Looking forward to trying many of you recipes, thank you, Aimee.

    1. Thank you Aimee. Happy to hear all loved the salad! So many more salad recipes on the site to explore. Best 😀Karen