My Pantry Shelf

Some dishes seem to create themselves.  The ingredients radiate with pure excitement when they enter into each others’ proximity.  This was the case when the loads of astonishingly fragrant strawberries pushed into the log of chevre in the fridge the other night. They called to me in their sweet seductive voices to please toss them with fresh spinach and roasted almonds, I was powerless to resist. Luckily, this force is pure good.  This dish is  full of vibrant seasonal nutritional powerhouses, so the guilt factor is nearly nil.

While strawberries are often restricted to  dessert or breakfast dishes, they make an excellent salad.  Feel free to adapt this at will.  The spinach can be replaced with arugula or butter lettuce, the chevre with feta, and the almonds with walnuts or pinenuts, but do not leave out the STRAWBERRIES!  They are too good right now to miss.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

with Chevre and Almonds

Serves 6

6 ounces fresh baby spinach

1 pint strawberries, stemmed and sliced

6 ounces chevre, sliced or crumbled

1/3 cup chopped roasted almonds

Balsamic Thyme Dressing (recipe follows)

Place spinach in a large bowl.  Top with strawberries, chevre, and almonds.  Lightly dress with Balsamic Thyme Dressing.

Balsamic Thyme Dressing

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

salt to taste

freshly ground pepper

Combine vinegar, lemon juice, and thyme in a bowl.  Slowly stream in olive oil while whisking to create an emulsion.  Alternatively put all ingredients in a small mason jar fitted with a blender blade and base.  Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Here is a printer-friendly version of the recipe:

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chevre and Almonds

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