A few weeks ago we had some friends over to dinner, and although I don’t typically “like experimenting on guests,” as my partner put it, this salad I’d never made before and in fact created wholly from scratch didn’t feel like an experiment. It came to me in a vision. I knew it was right.
It was also eleven million degrees out. Because I hate both heat and air conditioning, and because it was the first really hot day, we were (successfully, for awhile) beating the heat with fans only. Our apartment is floor-through and doesn’t get a ton of direct light, so a box fan at one end and a pedestal fan at the other, pointed directly at each other, are actually quite effective! But I digress. It was eleven million degrees out, and our ACs weren’t in yet, and we had a ridiculous quantity of lettuce because of our CSA, so we decided we’d serve Entree Salad. And then I thought, fuck it. We will also serve Appetizer Salad. I will tell you about both, but Entree Salad is tomorrow. Today is Appetizer Salad, the fruit of my own mind, I am a genius.
Appetizer Salad is a savory strawberry salad (say that five times fast) created entirely from farmer’s market finds that I bought because they looked delicious, before Appetizer Salad was even a twinkle in my eye. Here’s how you make it.
1/2 – 3/4 quart strawberries (ish. i eyeballed everything.)
8 – 10 sugar snap peas
Half a log goat cheese (that is a standardized measure. don’t fact check me. don’t make it weird.)
Balsamic vinegar
Fresh ground black pepper
Fresh basil
Clean and halve your strawberries. Put them in a bowl.
Clean, de-string, and chop your sugar snaps into thirds. Throw them into the strawberries with abandon.
Mash half a log of goat cheese with a fork. Scatter it over the strawberries and snap peas like freshly fallen snow, or more realistically, scrape lumps of goat cheese out like snow after several cars have driven over it.
Splash some balsamic vinegar over the whole deal.
A few grinds of pepper.
Tear in a small handful of fresh basil.
That’s it. Legit that’s it. Mix it up, let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes so the strawberries macerate a bit, then serve. This makes about four small servings or two lunch-size portions. It is also very nice as crostini.
Ends and Leavings 