Garden lettuce season is here, and we’re eating our way through a 2 gallon bag of the stuff given to us by friends. Our favorite recipe is Grandma Fern’s Wilted Lettuce. But a recipe for Strawberry-Kiwi Spinach Salad in the summer issue of the Hy-Vee (a regional grocery store chain headquartered in Iowa) Season’s Magazine caught my eye.
I used garden lettuce instead of spinach, fresh strawberries instead of frozen, added some onions and fiddled with a few of the dressing ingredients to come up with this recipe. Be sure to toast the sesame seeds as instructed. They gave the salad a rich, distinctive flavor that made the dish. We loved it, and it’ll make more appearances on our table in the future.
Strawberry-Kiwi Garden Lettuce Salad
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted*
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
4 cups fresh garden lettuce
1 cup fresh, hulled strawberries, washed and slicec
1–2 kiwis, washed, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons onion, chopped fine
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir in poppy seeds and toasted sesame seeds.
In a large bowl, toss salad greens, strawberries, kiwis, and onions. Add dressing and toss to coat.
*Preheat oven to 350°. Place sesame seeds in single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.
