Strawberry Almond Salad with Wild Violets

and blue cheese and a fresh strawberry almond vinaigrette

I dreamt of this salad weeks before I actually made it. I wanted to make a strawberry almond salad with sweet spiced almonds and an almond dressing … I searched and searched for almond butter to make the dressing and when I finally found it and brought it home, I wasn’t sure how to make it. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted a creamy dressing or a vinaigrette … and so the almond butter got stuck in a drawer as I pondered how to make this dressing. The more I thought of it, the more unsure I became of myself … until I was almost afraid to attempt making the dressing. Do you ever do that to yourself?

Finally I had to have a talk with myself. I mean, seriously, how many dressings have I made? Geez, I can totally DO this!

And so I told myself that I CAN … and I just started making it … and once I started, I was okay. I was in my element. I was creating.

And I really, really, really, totally love how it turned out! It’s got such a totally FRESH strawberry taste. It is sooo wonderful with the sugar & spice almond slices and the fresh berries … with a little blue cheese to counterpoint all those sweet flavors and the greens underneath. The violets just add to the show. It’s quite all right to skip the flowers altogether. I added them because they were popping up all over my lawn, like they were screaming to me to pick them just to beautify my salad.

Strawberry Almond Salad with Wild Violets & Blue Cheese

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients

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For the vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup fruity vinegar (apple, strawberry, pomegranate, or just plain white in a pinch)
• About 6 medium strawberries
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons almond butter
• 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar (or sugar that fell from the sugar & spice almond slices)

For the salad:

• Mixed greens
• Sliced fresh strawberries
• Sugar & Spice Almond Slices (recipe here)
• Blue cheese crumbles (or goat cheese, if you prefer)
• Wild violet flowers (or other edible flowers like pansies … just for show)

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Instructions

1. In a handi chopper or food processor, blend up the vinegar, strawberries, honey, almond butter, vanilla extract, and cinnamon sugar until the strawberries are pureed and everything is well mixed. Set aside the dressing to allow the flavors to meld.
2. Now, prep the salads: Fill your salad plates or bowls with mixed greens, then tuck in a bunch of fresh sliced strawberries and sprinkle with almond slices and blue cheese crumbles.
3. Drizzle with the pretty pink dressing and then tuck in a few wild violet flowers, if you have them.
4. Enjoy!

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Notes

Please take care in using wild flowers from your lawn … if you use chemicals on your lawn, I’d advice against eating them.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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This recipe was shared at Show & Share Wednesday, Tasty Thursday,  Thursday’s Treasures, Mop it Up Monday, Keep Calm & Cook On – Strawberries and Marvelous Mondays.