Strawberry season is coming to an end here in Maryland but, it will not stop us from making our Strawberry Summer Salad every week. This strawberry and mint dressing has us licking our plates even after all the food is happily in our bellies. Try out this strawberry dressing while all the fresh berries are still in season!
Strawberry Summer Salad
Ingredients
Balsamic Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp balsamic glaze
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Summer Salad Ingredients
- 4 cups spinach
- ¼ cup red onion
- 2 radish thinly sliced
- ½ cucumber thinly sliced
- ¼ cup goat cheese broken up
- ¼ cup pistachios
Instructions
- Add all balsamic chicken into a ziplock bag or bowls, mix well until chicken is completely coated in the marinade
- Let chicken sit in the marinade for at least 15 minutes
- While chicken is marinading construct your salad
- Lay the spinach at the bottom of your bowl and add your veggies on top
- Sprinkle pistachios and goat cheese on top of the salad
- In a medium pan add olive oil and heat over medium setting
- Once oil is hot, add chicken to the pan and cook 5-7 minutes on each side or until chickens internal temperature reaches 165°
- Remove chicken from pan and let rest 5 minutes before slicing
- Lay chicken on top of the salad and add strawberry mint dressing
When it comes to flavor profiles, Phillip and I mostly enjoy savory, salty, and spicy. Very rarely do we want sweetness outside of baked goods or fruits. While a fresh burst of sweetness in a salad or a dish is delicious, rarely do I crave this as the meal. Strawberries this season in Maryland have been so juicy, we have been getting fresh berries weekly to include in our yogurt or as dessert with some fresh cream or chocolate. Not that we tired with berries and cream, but we wanted to switch it up a bit.
As most of you know strawberry and mint are an amazing combo. Although strawberries are sweet, they do give off a bit of a sour flavor as well. The dressing we made for this Strawberry Summer Salad needed a little sweetness so we included some maple syrup to bring out the natural sweet flavor the strawberries have.
What should I add to my salad?
The answer is whatever you would like. We decided to use spinach, radishes, red onion, cucumbers, pistachios, and goat cheese. While most of the veggies are there as a filler to the salad, I highly recommend the pistachios and goat cheese. Originally we planned this recipe to have feta cheese because of the salty pairing with the sweet strawberry mint dressing. However, game day decision Phillip decided on the goat cheese swap and I couldn’t be happier. The creaminess the goat cheese adds is unlike most. Nuts are also a must, almonds or walnuts would be a good swap but pistachios provide the perfect salty flavor this salad needed.
Strawberry Mint Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup washed and cut strawberries
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup fresh mint
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth
Looking for more hearty salads, try these:
From our kitchen to yours, cheers!
