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Strawberry, Wild Arugula, and Balsamic Salad

Strawberries, arugula, and balsamic create an amazing layered, sweet, peppery, tangy profile that compliment each other very well.

This is a light salad that can be made heartier with a crumble of fresh farmer’s cheese or some toasted almonds.

Serves 4 Small Starter Salads
1 pintstrawberries
2bunches arugula
1head frisée or mizuna lettuce
1medium shallot
juice of 1 medium lemon
1 tspsalt
cracked black pepper
1/2 cupbest quality extra virgin olive oil
1 tsphoney
4 tbspbalsamic vinegar ( we love to use Temecula Olive Oil’s Golden Balsamic)
2 ozfresh goat cheese or farmer’s cheese (optional)
1/4 cupchopped toasted almonds (optional)
Removing the top and core of a strawberry with a pairing knife.

Wash strawberries quickly under running water, drain well, and let dry on a clean towel. With the tip of a small sharp paring knife, remove the stem and core of the strawberry and then cut them in quarters or eighths or slice them. Reserve in a small bowl.

Adding honey to shallots to create the dressing.

Wash and dry lettuces and chill for 30 minutes. Mince shallot and combine with the lemon juice, salt, honey, and balsamic. Let sit 10 minutes. Whisk in olive oil.

Adding dressing to salad in a shallow bowl.

In a large shallow bowl or platter, arrange the greens and strawberries and drizzle dressing over the salad. If you like, crumble the cheese and sprinkle the almonds over the top. Serve immediately.

Tip: Roasting your own almonds gives you a far superior flavor to buying pre-roasted almonds. They will taste fresher and can be roasted more perfectly as you can watch them closely. Roast them on a sheet pan in a 350-degree oven, stirring frequently. Begin checking them for doneness after about 7 minutes but checking to see if they are golden to the center – preferably by biting them in half! Once they are, remove from the oven, transfer to a bowl and immediately toss or stir them with a little bit of salt and some olive oil. Let them cool and then coarsely chop them for the salad.