Spring Salad with Strawberries, Fried Goat Cheese & Strawberry Vinaigrette
Spring is in the air and I couldn’t be more excited about it! This Spring Salad with Strawberries, Fried Goat Cheese & Strawberry Vinaigrette is one of my absolute favorites this time of year!! If you’ve never tried fried goat cheese or made it yourself, you’re in for a treat! I’ll venture to say that it absolutely makes the salad!
I have a few tips to make sure you have success! First of all, it’s a good idea to put the log of goat cheese in the freezer for about 20 mins (not longer than that). It will make it easier to slice into medallions, if you leave it too long, it will have the opposite effect and crumble, making it difficult to slice. This will also help to make sure that when the semi-frozen goat cheese hits the hot oil, it will take a few minutes of cooking time before it leaks out and you want to be finished frying it by then, so you don’t end up with a goopy mess! Also, make sure to chill the batter in the fridge until you’re ready to fry so it’s nice and cold.
The strawberry vinaigrette is delicious and tastes creamy, although there isn’t any cream added. This Spring Salad with Fried Goat Cheese & Strawberry Vinaigrette is bright, fresh, seasonal and the fried goat cheese adds a fantastic tang and crunch!
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Total Time
35 minutes
Course
Salad
Cuisine
American
Servings
6 servings
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Vinaigrette:
2 cups strawberries (one cup for vinaigrette, one cup sliced for the salad)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For the Fried Goat Cheese:
4 oz. goat cheese log (I used orange blossom. Honey)
1 egg beaten
1 cup cold club soda
1 cup AP flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Vegetable Oil
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp. Maldon salt
Baby Spinach & Arugula
2 Tbsp. mint, torn
1 shallot, sliced thinly
Instructions
Start by making the dressing; combine strawberries, apple cider vinegar, Dijon, honey, salt, pepper and EVOO in a blender. Blend until combined. Pour into a serving container and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Freeze the log of goat cheese for 15-20 mins. while you prepare the other ingredients. This will make it easier to slice and will keep it from leaking out during the frying process.
Prepare the batter for the goat cheese; whisk an egg and club soda in a medium sized bowl, slowly whisk in the dry ingredients; AP flour, baking powder and salt. Combine and store in the fridge to keep cold.
Heat a medium sized skillet over medium low heat, dry. Add sliced almonds and continue to move around until lightly toasted, it will only take about 2 mins. Keep an eye on them, they toast quickly. Remove.
Bring a skillet to medium high heat and add vegetable oil to go about ½” up the sides. Let it heat to about 350-360F.
While the oil is heating, slice the goat cheese, dip in the batter and into the panko crumbs, set onto a baking sheet. Fry the goat cheese for about 2 mins. per side until golden brown. It’s a quick process before the cheese melts. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with Maldon salt.
Assemble the salad; pile up the baby arugula and spinach, toss in the toasted sliced almonds, torn mint, sliced shallots and strawberries. Top with 2 few of the fried goat cheese medallions and drizzle with the Strawberry Vinaigrette and some fresh cracked pepper.