Strawberry Salad w/ creamy goat cheese dressing

June is peak strawberry season in Toronto, where I live, and it’s truly glorious seeing them pop up in supermarkets across the city. And what’s even more glorious is eating them, of course! This strawberry salad is the perfect excuse to eat berries at any meal. OH, and the creamy goat cheese dressing is literally to die for.

Watch me make it here on Instagram!

Active Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 2-4

What you need:
1 large head red leaf lettuce or field greens

½ lemon

3-4 mini cucumbers, chopped

1 cup, chopped strawberries

½ large avocado, sliced

protein of your choice (I’m using leftover baked trout here, but you could also do grilled chicken or pan-fried white beans)

¼ cup chopped roasted almonds

½ medium shallot, sliced and rinsed under cold water

For the dressing:

½ medium shallot

1 garlic clove

3 tbsp goat cheese

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp honey

½ tbsp red wine vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

½ tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Wash your lettuce in cold water, then dry thoroughly. If the lettuce is too wet, it will thin out the dressing and be a less flavourful salad overall. To avoid this, take the time to properly dry it. You can use a salad spinner or clean dish cloth (I’m using a clean dishcloth in the video).

2. Make the dressing by combining the shallot, garlic, goat cheese, lemon juice, honey, vinegar, oil and salt in a small container. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth but still thick. Taste and adjust seasoning.

3. Chop your lettuce into bite-sized pieces and add to a large bowl. Squeeze the half lemon over the lettuce and toss to coat. This will make the whole salad really fresh and bright.

4. Add the cucumbers, strawberries, avocado, protein, almonds and shallot slices to the lettuce bowl. Cover in dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Tag me if you make it @stefsdinnerdate on Instagram and TikTok!