MONDAY MORNING RECIPE - STRAWBERRY, SPINACH SALAD WITH POPPY SEED HONEY-LEMON DRESSING - SERVES 4

It is a great time for salads with all the hot weather we have been having. I am also adding our 10-day forecast, occasionally, not all the time. Just a reminder for us to look back on. Here's ours starting tomorrow (I am writing this on 7-13-24). Happily we have some rain ahead. Good news for our farmers and good news for our gardens.

This recipe comes from Julia's recipes, hosted by Julia, who lives in Colorado, USA. Thank you Julia for this wonderful recipe. Great photos, great recipes if you would like to take a look, and the original recipe is at this link. She also has a lot of suggestions for other recipes to be served with it.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Honey-Lemon Dressing 

Serves: 4

Calories per serving: approximately 370

Salad dressing:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons poppy seeds divided

Spinach Strawberry Salad

6 oz baby spinach

12 ounces strawberries cleaned, hulled, and sliced (about 3 cups)

½ cup feta cheese crumbled

½ cup pecans toasted

Make salad dressing:

Combine olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, honey, and 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds in a mason jar. Whisk well with a fork for 1 to 2 minutes until well blended. Add more (or less) honey or mustard to taste. (Denise’s note: I would also say go sparingly until you have added enough dressing to your salad for your own taste.)

Putting together:

Combine spinach, sliced strawberries, and toasted pecans (some whole some chopped) in a large serving bowl (or in 4 individual salad bowls).

Add salad dressing and toss to combine.

Top with crumbled feta cheese and sprinkle with extra poppy seeds.

Julia's Notes:

Toast the pecans on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350°F for 7 to 10 minutes, until they turn slightly darker (be careful not to over-toast them). Toasted pecans are crunchier and have a fresher taste.

Other nuts that complement a strawberry spinach salad are walnuts, toasted pine nuts, or salted shelled pistachios. Candied nuts are also great additions.

For a nut-free version, simply substitute sunflower seeds.

Alternative leafy greens include a spinach/arugula mix or butter lettuce.

Nutritional information can be read at the original recipe.

I am adding the full address if you prefer to copy and paste instead of clicking on any links.

https://juliasalbum.com/strawberry-spinach-salad-poppy-seeds/

Make ahead tips (Denise’s note: it was a lot of prep work and I would do all this for next time):

Toast pecans up to 2 days in advance. 

Toast them in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 7 or 10 minutes (Denise’s note: I have had trouble burning nuts, so I was cautious and took them out at a little past the 4 minute mark). Once they are cool, keep them in a ziploc bag at room temperature or in the fridge.

Make the salad dressing in advance:

You can make it up to 5 days in advance and keep it refrigerated in a mason jar. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

Assemble quartered strawberries, spinach, and crumbled feta cheese up to 5 hours in advance before serving.  

Add the nuts and the poppy seed dressing only when ready to serve. This will prevent spinach from wilting and will keep the nuts crunchy! (Denise’s note: I had added the dressing already for our meal. When we ate the two remaining meals the next day, it resembled a wilted lettuce salad, though we still enjoyed it. However, I wouldn’t make quite as much next time, and only enough for just two people to eat on the day of making.)

Storage Tips:

It's best to serve strawberry spinach salad right away, so it is recommended making just enough so that you have no leftovers. (See my note above.)

If you do have leftovers, the salad can be refrigerated for 2 days. It's best to refrigerate the salad and the dressing separately. 

What did we think? It was delicious and we enjoyed not only the ingredients but the salad dressing. You can play around with it if you think it is too sweet. We thought it was excellent, except I thought maybe to go easier on the poppy seeds as they seemed to be overboard on those. My advice for us next time is to use them sparingly until we have enough for them not to look too much. The following is a photo of what we thought was too much. That being said, it did not detract from the deliciousness.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, 

I hope your day is a great one. 

Bon Appétit!