Sweetheart 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
Scale
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.
