Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Berry-Mandarin Tossed Salad



I grew up eating a salad similar to this - except it didn't have strawberries. I love the addition for both color and flavor and I really love the dressing that goes over it all - it has a bit of a kick which is a nice contrast to the sweet fruit. This is a delightful luncheon salad when served with sandwiches, would be a lovely first course for dinner, and could even be the main course if you wanted to add chicken, blue cheese or goat cheese.

To make the dressing, in a small glass measuring cup, combine the sugar, vinegar, honey,



onion salt, lemon juice, paprika,



and dried mustard.



Heat this in the microwave for a minute or so until the sugar is dissolved. Then whisk in the oil.



Transfer this to a jar with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. (If you're not putting the dressing together ahead of time, you can just leave it in the measuring cup.)

When it's time to make the salad, combine the greens and red onion in a large salad bowl, then pour the dressing over



and toss the salad well to coat all the greens. Sprinkle on the mandarin oranges



then the strawberries



and top with the toasted almonds.



Serve immediately and dream of summer days to come. (I'm hoping that by posting this summery salad, summer - or at least spring! - will come my way soon...)



For more inspiration, visit My Meatless Mondays, Meatless Mondays, Meatless/Vegan Monday, This Week's Cravings, What's Cooking Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, What's on the Menu Wednesday, What's on Your Plate?, Made it on Monday, Let's Do Brunch, Recipes I can't Wait to Try, It's a Keeper, Full Plate Thursday, Recipe Swap Thursday , Pennywise Platter, Friday Food, Recipes to Run On.

Berry-Mandarin Tossed Salad

Dressing:
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
1 1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. onion salt
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/3 cup oil (I use olive)

Salad:
8 cups salad greens
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 small can mandarin oranges
1 small red onion, sliced
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

In a small measuring cup, combine sugar, vinegar, honey, lemon juice, paprika, onion salt and ground mustard. Microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in oil. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

When ready to serve, combine salad greens and onion in a large salad bowl. Drizzle dressing over and toss to coat. Sprinkle on mandarin oranges, strawberries and almonds. Serves 8-10 as a first course or side salad.

11 comments:

  1. That is a refreshing yummy looking salad. Just perfect for this time of year.

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  2. what a fresh, flavorful salad!

    So glad you shared it.

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  3. This looks delicious. I'm a new follower. I found you on The King's Court. I hope you stop by my blog and have a look.

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  4. Our theme for THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky Party (NEXT MONDAY... May 23rd) is "SUMMER SALADS" and this recipe would be PERFECT! We would love to invite you to stop by next Monday and link it up!

    http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/search/label/THIS%20WEEKS%20CRAVINGS

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  5. Throw in some grilled chicken and this looks like a great summer meal. I love the ingredients in the dressing. We will have to try this one out!

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  6. What a lovely looking salad. It just SCREAMS summer.

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  7. Hi Sara,
    I really think that I could just live on Salad's this time of the year. Your salad looks delicious, it is a great combination. Thanks for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and come back soon!

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  8. this sounds awesome come over to my blog at http://shopannies.blogspot.com and see what I shared

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  9. This sounds great Sara! The vinaigrette has such lovely flavours in it and how can you go wrong with berries, mandarins and almonds! Thank you for sharing another wonderful recipe with Let's Do Brunch - hope you will come by and share another one this week!

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  10. I wanted to THANK YOU for coming over and linking up to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Week #30 "Summer Salads", we feature a different theme each Monday. We hope you come back next week for "Memorial Day BBQ Recipes". Have a great weekend!

    http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/search/label/THIS%20WEEKS%20CRAVINGS

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  11. I just recently discovered my love for strawberries in my salad. And now look for new salad recipes to add them. Can't wait to try this! Thanks for linking to Recipes To Run On!

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