Strawberries, lollies from mother nature. These sweet little treats are in abundance over the summer months, and are so much fun to grow- not that I had much luck with that this year, but next year I will try again in a self-contained pot dedicated onto to strawberries as I think they prefer this environment. They will also be elevated in a pot, away from a greedy pug that likes to snuffle his face into the nose-level strawberry patch and consume whatever he can.
This is a fabulous summer-time salad, if you haven’t had the pleasure of strawberries, balsamic and feta, you haven’t lived yet. The combination is surprising, the balsamic-honey vinaigrette enhances the sweetness of the strawberries, and the feta adds an inquisitive tang. The basil, I think is really special in this salad, I like to call it a “surprise” flavour, as you just don’t really expect it to be in there, but when you discover it, it’s like, wow. This strawberry, asparagus & goats cheese salad is super easy to make, and I guarantee you will be making plans to make this again!
Tips and tricks:
Don’t pull the basil leaves from the stalks until you are ready to serve the salad, as this keeps them fresher for longer. When I purchase my herbs (if I don’t have any in the garden) I like to soak the trimmed ends in water for 20-30 minutes, dampen a paper towel and squeeze out the excess water, wrap the stems in the paper towel and pop your herbs into a snap-lock bag, seal and pop into the refrigerator, I can get up to a week of fresh herbs!
Toss through the dressing just prior to serving as it can make the salad wilt a little as all the soft textures tend to absorb the dressing. Sometimes, for aesthetics, especially if you are taking this to a dinner/BBQ/pot-luck, crumble or pop the feta/goats cheese on the top, after tossing the dressing, that way the goats cheese doesn’t get rolled around in the balsamic, tinting the fresh white colour.
- For the salad:
- 2 punnet's of washed strawberries- cut into halves
- 2 bunches of asparagus (thin stemmed is best) washed, ends trimmed and cut into thirds
- 125 grams feta or goats cheese cut into 1cm cubes
- 3 cups of washed baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup of basil leaves- whole
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ½ Tbsp olive oil
- For the dressing:
- 6 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp organic maple syrup or honey if you do not have maple syrup
- A good pinch of salt and pepper
- Start by combining the ingredients for the dressing, mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup and salt and pepper together, mix well with a whisk and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Wash baby spinach and basil leaves in a colander and set aside to drip dry.
- Wash strawberries under running water and cut into halves.
- Wash asparagus, trim about 2cm off the base to remove the woody ends and discard, cut into thirds.
- Cook asparagus in a pan with ½ Tbsp oil until they turn bright green, remove from pan and set aside.
- Cut the goats cheese or feta into 1cm cubes.
- Place greens in a bowl, along with asparagus, strawberries, feta and slivered almonds. Give the dressing another good whisk to combine ingredients and evenly distribute dressing over salad.
- Toss to combine and serve immediately.
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