Strawberry goat cheese salad recipe: A fresh, easy spring salad

Juicy berries, Fried cheese and toasted Pecans make this spring salad light, bright and endlessly craveable

Story + Photography by Alea Wilkins

Spring in the Lowcountry calls for garden-fresh produce, cold glasses of iced tea and meals best enjoyed on the porch. This month strawberries are ripe for the picking, and LOCAL Life publisher Lori Goodridge-Cribb’s favorite way to use them is in her strawberry goat cheese salad, which is equal parts sweet and savory. Fresh butter lettuce and arugula serve as the base, but the toppings, a medley of juicy strawberries, creamy goat cheese and toasted pecans, steal the show. Add salmon or chicken to make it a full meal, or enjoy it with crostinis for a satisfying first course. A homemade strawberry basil vinaigrette brings it all together, marrying the flavors for a taste of the season in every bite.

Strawberry goat cheese salad

Fresh butter lettuce and arugula serve as the base, but the toppings, a medley of juicy strawberries, creamy goat cheese and toasted pecans, steal the show. Add salmon or chicken to make it a full meal, or enjoy it with crostinis for a satisfying first course. A homemade strawberry basil vinaigrette brings it all together, marrying the flavors for a taste of the season in every bite.

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Course Salad

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/2 cups butter lettuce torn
• into 1- to 2-inch pieces
• 1 cup arugula roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh strawberries sliced
• 1/3 cup whole pecans
• 2 oz about 1/4 cup goat cheese
• White of 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Instructions

 

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans on a large baking sheet. Toast pecans for 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned.
• While pecans are toasting, add butter lettuce and arugula to a large serving bowl. Slice strawberries and add to the bowl.
• Slice goat cheese and coat in egg whites and breadcrumbs, then fry on the stovetop with a neutral oil until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
• Toss salad and top with toasted pecans, fried goat cheese and strawberry basil vinaigrette. Lori recommends serving it with crostinis and a glass of prosecco.

Video

Notes

Goat cheese has a habit of sticking to knives, leaving you with more smear than slice. The simple fix? Dental floss. Pull it taut between your fingers and slide it through the log for perfectly clean rounds.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Strawberry basil vinaigrette

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Ingredients

  

• 1/4 cup crushed strawberry balsamic vinegar Hilton Head Oils and Balsamics
• 1/4 cup basil extra-virgin olive oil Hilton Head Oils and Balsamics
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Add all ingredients to a Mason jar, and shake to combine.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!