Sometimes I over buy my fruit.  I don’t mean to, but kids who gobble up baskets of strawberries one day, have no interest in them two days later.  It’s their fault clearly. So then a few days later I have a bunch of not so lovely looking berries.  A little strawberry salad to the rescue!  I soak and wash the berries and hull them removing any really bad parts.  The small or smushy bits I place in a small bowl and set aside for the dressing.  The larger pieces get sliced and chopped up for the salad.  Of course you can do this with perfect berries but this is a great way to ensure the ‘less than’ berries get dropped into a delicious meal rather than tossed.

Dressing:

1/4 cup berries, chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice or red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons EVOO

Fresh cracked black pepper

Place berries, red wine vinegar and salt in a small bowl and use a fork to crush the berries to a pulp and mix to combine ingredients well.  Add EVOO and a couple of grinds of black pepper and mix well.  Let sit for minimum of 10 minutes for flavors to meld.  Taste and make any adjustments needed.

Salad:

3-4 Cups arugula

1/2 cup sliced berries

1 oz. chevre or feta

Wash and dry the arugula.  Add dressing and toss.  Sprinkle with sliced strawberries and cheese.  Adjust seasonings and chomp.

Consider some add ons like toasted, chopped walnuts or a sprinkle of almond slices to amp up the protein content.  Try this with blueberries or over-ripe peaches too!