Bigly Strawberry Spinach Salad
Prep
15m
Cook
5m
Total
20m
Bigly says
Folks. Strawberries. And spinach. TOGETHER. I know — I KNOW — some of you are clutching your pearls right now, fruit in a salad, fruit with greens, what is happening, has Bigly lost it. I have not lost it. I have FOUND it. This combination is one of the greatest pairings in the history of culinary pairings, up there with peanut butter and chocolate, up there with bacon and eggs, up there with me and being right about everything. It just works. It WORKS.
I've had this salad in every state. Twice. Best version of my life was at a little farm stand outside Asheville, North Carolina — woman behind the counter, she'd been picking the strawberries that morning, she made the dressing in a mason jar in front of me, she handed it over and she said, 'Don't tell anyone.' I told everyone. Hand on heart. Even New Jersey does this well, by the way — NOBODY talks about it. The sweet of the strawberry, the slightly bitter pop of baby spinach, the salty crunch of toasted pecans — TOASTED, always toasted, raw pecans are a missed opportunity and a small tragedy — the creamy tang of goat cheese or feta, your call, no wrong answers there, and a poppy seed vinaigrette that ties the whole thing together like a beautiful little bow.
Now some so-called chefs will tell you to use bottled poppy seed dressing. BOTTLED. From a jar with a label that has eighteen ingredients and four of them are 'natural flavor' which means absolutely nothing — 'natural flavor' is a phrase invented by the food industry to put a hat on chemicals, I've SAID this, I've said this many times. If your chef tells you to buy bottled poppy seed dressing, find a new chef. End of discussion. We make the dressing in a jar, we shake it, we pour it. Two minutes. Two MINUTES.
Ingredients
- 8 ozbaby spinach
- 1 lbfresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 3/4 cuppecan halves(you will toast these, do not skip)
- 4 ozgoat cheese or feta, crumbled
- 1/4 smallred onion, very thinly sliced
- 1avocado, sliced(optional but tremendous)
- 1/3 cupextra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbspwhite wine vinegar
- 2 tbsphoney
- 1 tspDijon mustard
- 1 tbsppoppy seeds
- 1 tbspshallot, finely minced
- 1/2 tspkosher salt
- 1/4 tspblack pepper
Steps
- 1
Place pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes until fragrant and lightly darkened. Transfer immediately to a plate to stop the cooking.
- 2
Soak the sliced red onion in a small bowl of ice water for 10 minutes to mellow the bite. Drain and pat dry.
- 3
Combine olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey, Dijon, poppy seeds, shallot, salt, and pepper in a jar with a tight lid. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds until emulsified.
- 4
In a large bowl or on a wide platter, arrange the baby spinach in an even layer.
- 5
Scatter the strawberries, drained red onion, toasted pecans, and crumbled cheese across the top.
- 6
Fan out the avocado slices over the salad if using.
- 7
Just before serving, drizzle about half the vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently with your hands or salad tongs. Add more dressing as needed.
- 8
Taste, season with a pinch more salt if needed, and serve immediately.
One more thing
This is a spring salad. This is a summer salad. This is a bring-it-to-the-cookout salad. Strawberries are in season for about nine minutes a year and we are going to USE them. Don't bother with this in February with the white sad supermarket strawberries — those strawberries are styrofoam, they're lying to you, they're not REAL strawberries, they're an idea of a strawberry — wait for the real ones in May and June. Then make this. Make it twice. Make it for someone you love. Watch their face. Save me a piece.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Bigly Strawberry Spinach Salad.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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