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About the Recipe
This fresh salad includes fresh strawberries, salty feta cheese, candied walnuts, and an easy homemade balsamic vinaigrette. The textures and flavors are delicious and compliment each other perfectly! It reminds you of a fancy salad that you’d get at a cafe, but you can make it at home for a fraction of the cost. This is one of those “summer” salads that you could literally eat all year long!
Ingredients
Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Candied Walnuts
1/2 Tbsp butter ($0.07)
2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
1 pinch salt ($0.01)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts ($1.15)
Salad
8 oz baby spinach
1/2 lb strawberries, sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 oz crumbled feta cheese
Preparation
Start by making the homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, minced garlic clove, dried basil, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper to a jar, bowl, or blender. Close the jar and shake the ingredients together, whisk in a bowl, or blend until the dressing is evenly combined. Set the dressing aside.
Next make the candied walnutss. Add the butter, brown sugar and a pinch of salt to a small non-stick skillet. Heat over medium heat while stirring.
Once the butter and brown sugar begins to melt add the chopped walnuts to the skillet and stir with the brown sugar mixture. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring every 10-15 seconds until the brown sugar fully melts (looks glossy instead of grainy) and completely coats the walnuts.
Remove the skillet from the heat immediately and transfer the candied walnuts to a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the walnuts out evenly in a flat layer and allow them to cool for 10 minutes while the candied coating fully hardens.
Now prep the strawberries, red onion and feta cheese. Remove the stems and slice the strawberries, thinly slice the red onion, and crumble the feta. Set these ingredients to the side.
Divide the spinach between four plates. Drizzle 2 Tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette on top of each bed of spinach.
Add sliced strawberries, red onions, a tablespoon or two of candied walnuts, and a tablespoon of feta cheese to each salad. Feel free to drizzle a little more balsamic vinaigrette over the top of each and enjoy!