The recipe for a great strawberry salad is very easy, you just need fresh ingredients and you’re good to go! It’s a tasty recipe that combines the sweetness of strawberries with the saltiness of cheese and the acidity of Modena balsamic vinegar.
If you like unique salads, be sure to read the recipe
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 2 Minutes
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
- Energy 119.00 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 13.13 (g) of which sugars 7.93 (g)
- Proteins 7.23 (g)
- Fat 4.78 (g) of which saturated 2.94 (g)of which unsaturated 1.54 (g)
- Fibers 3.50 (g)
- Sodium 137.45 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 250 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 2 people
- 7 oz strawberries
- 7 oz mixed salad greens
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 oz Grana Padano DOP
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Vegetable peeler
Procedure
Let’s start with the most unusual ingredient, garlic sprouts, which have a concentrated garlic flavor without the heaviness and lingering taste. Use them sparingly or they might overpower other flavors.
The sprouts are optional; the strawberry salad is delicious even without them. You can buy them at specialty stores or grow them at home in a few days using special sprouters.
Regarding the vinegar, use real Modena vinegar, making sure the first ingredient on the label is grape must. If it’s not, change the brand. Real Modena vinegar is slightly more expensive, but the taste is incomparable, and you’ll use much less than with other industrial vinegars.
The preparation of the dish is straightforward. Start by gently washing the mixed greens so as not to damage and keep the leaves intact. Drain the water and dry them well to avoid leaving water in the salad. Cut the strawberries in half and then into thirds to create uniform wedges.
Now let’s focus on the Grana Padano flakes (or Tuscan pecorino). You need a fairly large block because, using the vegetable peeler, you’ll create cheese flakes to add to the salad.
To assemble the plate, I always start with the mixed greens, add the strawberries, a little more mixed greens, and mix lightly. Arrange some cheese flakes, a bit more salad and strawberries, and the dish is almost complete. Finally, you can add the garlic sprouts and balsamic vinegar.
Your strawberry salad is ready!
Plating Tips:
The strawberry salad is a very elegant dish. To achieve the best visual impact, do not overmix or overly handle the ingredients, which should be distinct and well-distributed.
For this reason, I recommend working with single servings and not letting your guests serve themselves, as the aesthetic impact would be less refined. Do not prepare the salad in advance, as the cut strawberries tend to spoil quite quickly. Work on everything just before serving.
Which wine to pair:
I recommend pairing the strawberry salad with a sparkling white wine to make the dish even fresher and more flavorful. For example, you can serve it with a Valdobbiadene Millesimato.
