Strawberry Vinaigrette

I love a fruity vinaigrette on salads and having strawberries on hand, it was time to try a strawberry vinaigrette.  We love the blueberry vinaigrette I sometimes make and definitely loved the rhubarb vinaigrette I tried a few years ago.  I should make that again soon.  Even lime and orange vinaigrettes have been successful in the castle, adding citrus to the list of tasty salad toppings.  I even made a pecan vinaigrette that was super tasty!

The hardest part of making a vinaigrette is climbing up to bring down my blender.  I’m more of a food processor person so the blender is up high and usually covered with dust.  Once it’s dusted and ready to use, the recipe is very simple.

Clean strawberries and add to blender. Measure in sugar, salt and pepper.

I had cleaned the strawberries and had them ready to use.  I added them to the blender then measured the sugar, salt and pepper in as well.

Add extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

I added the extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.  I used apple cider vinegar but you could use red wine vinegar instead.

Pulse and blend, pushing strawberries down and scraping sides until smooth.

I pulsed and pulsed and scraped down the insides of the blender several times.  I pressed the strawberries down to encourage them to puree and with patience, finally got them to a smooth consistency.  I sometimes wish I had one of those super blenders with the stirring stick built in but I don’t use the blender enough to justify that pricey little appliance.  So patience is necessary.

I taste tested my vinaigrette and thought it was a little bitter, and added more sugar.  One more processing and the sugar was incorporated and my vinaigrette was delicious.  You might want to add or subtract the amount of sugar based on the sweetness of your strawberries.  I used 1/4 cup total and it was just right.

Store in Mason jar in the fridge for up to a week.

The vinaigrette fit perfectly into a pint Mason jar, and into the fridge it went until dinner.

Strawberry Vinaigrette

I made lettuce salads as a side for dinner and drizzled the strawberry vinaigrette over the top of the salads.  Not only is it tasty, it’s beautiful too!  Such an elegant color to decorate the greens!  We had salads all week with the vinaigrette and it was fresh for several days.  I’d say it will last a week in the fridge, at least.

Strawberry Vinaigrette

The strawberry vinaigrette is definitely a way to make a simple lettuce salad pop.  The tart yet sweet strawberry flavor was a pleasant touch for a lettuce, cucumber and green onion salad.  Adding sliced strawberries would have been good, but unfortunately I’d just used them all up.  But this vinaigrette is going on my list of favorite ways to dress a salad!