June 28, 2011

Deconstructed Salad: Fresh Strawberries with Poppy Seed Dressing {Powernap}

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

My childhood friend Stephen lives in Madrid and is a consummate foodie. When not at work he frequently wanders Spain, and all of Europe for that matter, in search of good eats. The other day he left a casual comment on my Facebook fanpage sharing how he had just returned from Roland Garros where he had enjoyed a delicious salad of strawberries in poppy seed dressing. Strawberries & Spinach with Poppy Seed Dressing is a very popular stateside salad, but his post gave me an idea. Why not ditch the spinach and sliced almonds (the former of which I didn’t have on hand anyway) and just toss my freshly-picked berries with a tart dressing for a late lunch? It sounded simple, delicious and easy to make, so I turned to the berry basket and got to work.

There are many, many variations of poppy seed dressing and I dreamt up this one based on what I believed would be the best flavors to contrast with the sweet berries. I kept it light with a simple oil, vinegar and salt mixture. Many dressings call for mayonnaise, which I don’t really like that much. With my daughter off at camp — we had gone strawberry picking that morning — I had plenty of time to whisk together the dressing and treat myself to a big bowl for lunch. The sweet strawberries were cloaked in a wonderful acidic dressing, they tasted like a delicious sweet-tart candy. The perfect powernap recipe, indeed.

Fresh Strawberries with Poppy Seed Dressing

3	tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/8	cup sugar
1	pinch salt
1/3	cup canola oil
1	teaspoon poppy seeds

1. Place the vinegar, sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk together. While whisking, pour in the olive oil until completely emulsified. Toss with fresh strawberries and serve.