Strawberry Romaine Salad
For my wedding shower, everyone brought a few recipes, and this is one of my favorites. It is refreshing and pretty. This salad also travels well; just save the dressing and use it just before serving.
For my wedding shower, everyone brought a few recipes, and this is one of my favorites. It is refreshing and pretty. This salad also travels well; just save the dressing and use it just before serving.
- Carbohydrate 14.2999866681727 g
- Cholesterol 8.00000000676281 mg
- Fat 8.22068000787683 g
- Fiber 1.57933333261446 g
- Protein 1.28518666734486 g
- Saturated Fat 1.32057600124355 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (101g)
- Sodium 164.833333471955 mg
- Sugar 12.7206533355582 g
- Trans Fat 5.73165600479742 g
- Calories 134 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large salad bowl, combine the romaine, spinach, strawberries and sliced onion.
- In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, milk and poppy seeds. Shake well and pour the dressing over salad. Toss until evenly coated.
Combining fruit with crisp greens requires careful emulsion management to prevent a watery bowl. The dressing relies on mayonnaise as a stable base, which naturally contains lecithin to hold oil and vinegar together without immediate separation. Incorporating milk thins the heavy mayonnaise base just enough to coat delicate leaves evenly.
Achieving Structural Integrity
Salad greens must be completely dry before mixing with wet ingredients. Residual rinse water clinging to the romaine and spinach breaks the oil emulsion on contact, pooling at the base of the bowl and wilting the leaves prematurely. Use a manual salad spinner to remove surface moisture, then lay the greens across clean linen towels for ten minutes before chopping.
- If mayonnaise is unavailable, plain Greek yogurt provides a comparable dairy tang at a one-to-one substitution ratio.
- Slice Bermuda onions paper-thin using a mandoline set to 1.5 millimeters to distribute the sharpness without overwhelming the fruit.
- Store assembled greens and dressing in separate airtight containers for up to four hours if transporting.
