When you live in a Northern climate like I do, you tend to look at magazines and magazine articles with a jaded eye. When a magazine is touting “fresh strawberries now” in March and April, here in the north we roll our eyes and set the article aside for June- the real strawberry season up here. This time, Eating Well actually timed their strawberry feature perfectly with their June issue. The magazine actually was out in May, but I give them credit for putting strawberries on their June cover, when everyone else was doing so months ago.
Anyway. One of the recipes in the article on strawberries was for an Arugula & Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette. I glanced at it briefly, but I cannot stand the taste of arugula, so I kind of just went past it. But then I came back to it. The picture was lovely, and I could see salty feta with sweet strawberries. Why couldn’t I use whatever greens my family prefers instead of the arugula? I certainly couldn’t see why not. So I purchased an organic salad leaf blend and started composing my salad.
The day I made this salad was also the day I pulled out my immersion blender for something else and discovered it died. 🙁 So when I came to the part about blending the dressing, I thought about hauling out the heavy blender or food processor, and instead opted to use my mortar and pestle and make the vinaigrette like Mexican style guacamole made in a molcajete. I chopped up four strawberries and one green onion and added them to the mortar. I also added the salt, and then opted to leave out the garlic clove, as I didn’t want it to overpower. I mashed those three things up, and once I was happy with the consistency, I poured them into a mason jar and added the remaining vinaigrette ingredients. A few shakes and I had a salad dressing.
The sweet strawberries and salty fresh feta cheese WERE incredible together. I thought a handful of toasted almonds would have been a nice addition too, since the salad didn’t really have much crunch. It was kind of a one-textured salad, and the crunch would have been delightful. Jicama would have been nice too, now that I think of it. Everything about this salad made me happy though. Everyone ate it, and I will definitely be making it again.
Arugula & Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
from Eating Well Magazine, June 2013
2 cups strawberries, hulled, divided 1 spring onion or scallion, trimmed 1 small clove garlic, minced 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried 1/2 teaspoon whole-grain mustard 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2-1 teaspoon agave nectar or sugar (optional) 10 cups arugula 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheeseDirections:
Puree 4 strawberries and onion (or scallion) in a small food processor or blender until chopped. Add garlic, vinegar, oil, tarragon, mustard, salt and pepper; pulse until well combined. Taste and add a little agave (or sugar) if the dressing is too tart.
Toss the arugula and feta in a large bowl. Slice the remaining strawberries and add to the bowl. Toss the salad with the dressing.