Sweetheart Strawberry Salad with Blushing Berry Dressing is a salad for two! Just the thing to share with your honey on Valentine’s Day, it’s made with a homemade blushing pink dressing and adorable mini sweetheart croutons. The perfect way to show someone special how much you care!
Put your Sweetheart Strawberry Salad with Blushing Berry Dressing in a heart-shaped dish, get out 2 forks and share it right from the bowl – kinda like Lady and the Tramp shared their spaghetti from the same plate. So romantic!
This is actually a ceramic pie plate. I have yet to make a pie in it, but use it as a serving bowl instead. It’s the perfect size for a salad for two.
I sliced a few large strawberries and left the small ones whole. The small strawberries were about the size of the mini sweetheart croutons – about an inch and a quarter. Don’t you love my towel that says “Sweethearts”? I have this thing for cute kitchen towels.
Here’s a close-up of those adorable mini sweetheart croutons. Easy to make, I just cut them out from regular white bread, placed them on a cookie sheet and broiled them in the oven. After a few minutes, I turned them over, brushed them with a little olive oil, sprinkled them with garlic salt and black pepper, then put them back in the oven to finish browning.
Pine nuts, sliced green onions, and mozzarella pearls finish this Sweetheart Strawberry Salad with Blushing Berry Dressing, all on a bed of torn romaine leaves mixed with a bit of baby arugula. Mozzarella “pearls” are just tiny balls all packed together like monkey bread. If you can’t find them, use regular mozzarella – just cut it or tear it into little chunk about a quarter inch in size.
Sweetheart Strawberry Salad with Blushing Berry Dressing is a delicious combination of sweet and savory and makes a wonderful little salad whether served as a main dish salad for lunch or as a side salad with dinner. Here’s one for your Pinterest board:
It makes me really happy that people love to share! Please feel free to share on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Yummly, StumbleUpon and anywhere else you can think of…thanks!
Serve Sweetheart Strawberry Salad with Blushing Berry Dressing in a heart-shaped bowl and get out two forks! #ValentinesDay #strawberrysalad Click To TweetHere’s the recipe for Sweetheart Strawberry Salad with Blushing Berry Dressing:
PrintSweetheart Strawberry Salad with Blushing Berry Dressing
Strawberries, pine nuts, and mozzarella pearls combine with Sweetheart Mini Croutons to make a special salad for Valentine’s Day. Although this is a long recipe (because I’ve broken it up in stages), it is really easy to make!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
To Make the Croutons:
- 2 slices white bread
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
To Make Blushing Berry Dressing:
- 5 frozen strawberries, defrosted (plus strawberry juice from defrosting)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 orange, juiced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut into quarters
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/8 teaspoon poppy seeds
To Make the Salad:
- 2 cups romaine leaves, torn
- 1/2 cup baby arugula
- 2 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 5 small strawberries, left whole
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- 1 green onion, sliced (both white and green parts)
- 15 mozzarella pearls (from an 8-ounce bag, this uses about a fifth of the package, so reserve the rest for another use)
Instructions
To Make the Sweetheart Croutons:
- Preheat oven to broil.
- Using a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts from the 2 slices of bread (I had about 15 hearts).
- Transfer to baking sheet and place in preheated oven and watch carefully.
- As soon as they are lightly golden, remove from oven and flip each heart over.
- With a pastry brush, brush with olive oil and dust with garlic salt and black pepper.
- Return to broiler, watch closely and remove from oven when toasted and golden.
To Make Blushing Berry Dressing:
- Add all ingredients, except the canola oil and poppy seeds, to a blender.
- Pulse until combined.
- With blender running, remove part of the lid and drizzle canola oil into blender until emulsified.
- Add poppy seeds and pulse once to combine.
- Taste and correct seasoning (may need a bit more salt and pepper).
To Assemble Salad:
- Toss together romaine leaves, arugula, green onions and pine nuts.
- Place in serving container.
- Arrange strawberries and mozzarella pearls over lettuce and top with Sweetheart Croutons.
- Serve with Blushing Berry Dressing.
Notes
Don’t use olive oil in the salad dressing or your dressing will be peach in color! Use canola oil or vegetable oil to retain the pink color of the dressing. This recipe makes about a cup of Blushing Berry Dressing, so you will have plenty for another salad. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Kitchen Essentials Needed:
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Mini Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutter || Baking Sheet || Pastry Brush || Small Mixing Bowls || Kitchen Knife || Blender || Salad Dressing Bottle || Heart-Shaped Pie Plate || Forks
Tootles,
Other Valentine’s Day Recipes from Toot Sweet 4 Two’s Archives:
Sweetheart Strawberry Crostini
Raspberry Cheesecake Cutie Pies
You Might Also Like:
Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies from Elizabeth at Sugar Hero
Easy Homemade Valentine’s Day Heart Pizzas over at The Junior
Valentine’s Day Chex Treat from Alli at Cupcake Diaries
What a gorgeous salad! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
Thank you so much! Thanks, too, for stopping by and I appreciate the pin to Pinterest!
Love the dressing! Thanks for sharing on Tasty Tuesdays.
I’m so happy! Thanks for stopping by!
I love this – the heart shaped croutons are such a great touch! We’ll be Featuring this on this week’s Awesome Life Friday – thank you for sharing!
Wow, Lynda! I’m so excited and honored! Thanks so much!
Thank you visiting Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party this week and sharing your post! I have pinned your post to the BBPP Pinterest Board. Have a fabulous week!
Thanks, Sandy! Appreciate your support!
This salad not only looks pretty, it sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing on Show Me Saturday! Pinning!
Thanks, Lindsay! And thanks for stopping by!
The dish + croutons = adorable!
That is so super cute, I love it 🙂
Thanks so much! And, thanks for dropping by!
This is a great little salad! It is a perfect start of a dinner for 2. And you don’t need to have it just on Valentine’s day…it is ideal for a date night, anniversary, birthday dinner. The heart-shaped croutons just puts it over the top!
You are absolutely right – the perfect little salad for any special occasion! Thanks for dropping by!
Oh my gosh! That is the cutest (and yummiest) looking salad! I love those little heart-shaped croutons!
Thanks, Christine! It is yummy!