Summer Strawberry Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette is a light and refreshing salad that comes together in minutes.
We love salads of all kinds, and with the garden in full bloom, we eat them quite often these days. It is always nice to come up with new recipes for dressings and salad combinations, and this one is sure to please. This Strawberry Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette came to us one day after Jackie’s birthday celebration, when we lounged on the deck after a nice meal at one of our favorite Manhattan restaurants. We settled in, got comfortable, opened a bottle of sparkling wine and enjoyed each other’s company. When the first glass was finished, we realized that we both had the look of sleep in our eyes.
We decided without saying a word that it was time to turn in. Re-corking the sparkling wine was not easy to do, so in a sleepy haze we simply placed the open bottle in the fridge and retired for the evening. The next morning, we decided that a salad with the fresh berries from the market sounded delicious. As I surveyed the fridge for ingredients, what was staring me in the eyes? The sparkling wine from the night before. Now most champagne vinaigrettes are made with champagne vinegar, but I decided to change it up a bit with the leftovers we had.
Fresh bibb lettuce, some red onions, and fresh berries worked perfectly with this new dressing that I had concocted. The sparkling wine gave it a little bite from the fizz that was hanging on. The vinegar and fresh ingredients made this salad a very enjoyable and tasty lunch on the deck while reading the newspaper, relaxing, and enjoying each others company.
- ½ C sparkling wine
- ¼ C balsamic vinegar (white balsamic is ideal)
- 1 lemon
- ½ C olive oil
- 1 tsp coarse ground mustard
- 1 garlic clove chopped finely
- 1 tsp finely chopped shallot
- ½ tsp fresh chopped oregano
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt
- pepper
- Using day old champagne or sparkling wine is perfect (even if flat).
- In a mixing bowl, combine sparkling wine, garlic, sugar, mustard, juice from 1 lemon and shallot and allow to sit for 10 minutes while preparing your favorite salad.
- Add remaining ingredients (except oil) and mix together.
- While drizzling oil slowly into dressing whisk vigorously until well combined.
- Refrigerate up to 4 days in refrigerate and top your favorite greens
Strawberries are such a natural salad ingredient. Next time I have a bottle of fizz I’ll have to resist the urge not to save any to try this vinaigrette.