Strawberry Spinach Salad
Try this light and refreshing Strawberry Spinach Salad recipe, perfect for a summer party or a healthy weeknight meal.
Try this light and refreshing Strawberry Spinach Salad recipe, perfect for a summer party or a healthy weeknight meal.
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- 10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed dried and torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 quart strawberries - cleaned hulled and sliced
- 1/4 cup almonds blanched and slivered
- Carbohydrate 21.2595159494646 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 15.0478693853685 g
- Fiber 2.30446251029341 g
- Protein 3.29130000073393 g
- Saturated Fat 1.8787813763788 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (130g)
- Sodium 5.6863383849998 mg
- Sugar 18.9550534391712 g
- Trans Fat 0.596192000338257 g
- Calories 226 calories
Step-by-step
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
- In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Fat droplets and acid separate naturally unless forced into a temporary emulsion through vigorous whisking. Oil and vinegar mixtures rely on physical agitation to break liquids into microscopic droplets suspended by mechanical force rather than true chemical binding. Minced onion and seeds provide physical disruption points that help stabilize this suspension during the chilling window.
Chill the blended dressing for exactly one hour to hydrate the sugar and soften the raw bite of the onion. Raw spinach leaves require thorough drying after rinsing, because excess water droplets on the leaf surface create a barrier that repels oil-based dressings, causing them to pool at the bottom of the bowl rather than coating the greens evenly. Slivered almonds introduce necessary crunch to counter the yielding texture of ripe fruit.
Combine the dressed components only ten to fifteen minutes before service to prevent osmotic pressure from drawing moisture out of the berries and wilting the delicate greens. This salad cannot undergo freezing or reheating due to the high water content of fresh berries and spinach, which causes cell walls to rupture and turn mushy upon thawing.
