Salad with Pecans, Apples, Strawberries and Strawberry Dressing

One of my dear friends introduced me to this salad last summer. It’s something she and her mother came up with and it is really tasty. I made it all summer long and have made it a few times already this year. You can adjust all the ingredients to your liking. For the dressing, if you like more strawberries and less sugar, start without sugar and taste and add sugar as you go. Same goes for vinegar. It’s really easy to experiment and make it to your liking. The salad is easy, pretty, and really good. Add grilled chicken breasts to make it a meal.


Salad with Pecans, Apples, Strawberries and Strawberry Dressing
printable version of this recipe

Salad
½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
½ pound strawberries, chopped (I had raspberries on hand so I used them instead)
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 apple, chopped

Dressing
½ pound strawberries
½ cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup canola oil

Toast pecans in a 350 degree oven for 7-8 minutes. Allow pecans to cool, then chop them roughly on a cutting board; set aside. Wash strawberries, remove stems and chop half of them, reserving the rest for the dressing. Toss the chopped strawberries and torn lettuce together in a salad bowl.

Puree the remaining ½ pound of strawberries with the sugar, red wine vinegar and canola oil in a blender. Chop apple and coat all surfaces a few tablespoons of dressing to prevent it from browning. Add apples to salad bowl.

Add pecans to salad and drizzle with dressing just before serving. Keep left over dressing in a container fitted with a tight lid for up to 2 weeks.