America’s Test Kitchen has lived up to its reputation for excellent recipes with this wonderful salad. As usual I changed the recipe slightly but it has all the right ingredients. Two favorite greens, sweet strawberries, toasted nutty almonds and pickled red onions – oh, and lots of toasted poppy seeds in the dressing made a refreshing salad for dinner.
This recipe is healthier and in my opinion a better poppy seed dressing from what I posted years ago which was loaded with more oil and almost the same amount of sugar. I did use All-Purpose in The Raw Sweetener though. See Melon, Prosciutto and Provolone… for my other version.
Poppy Seed Dressing Over Spinach/Romaine with Strawberries, Pickled Onions and Almonds
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup sugar (I did use All-Purpose In The Raw Sweetener)
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt (I used 1/2 tsp.)
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper (I will use 1/4 tsp. next time)
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (make lots of these and not too thinly sliced)
- 1 tbsp. poppy seeds, toasted (or less if you prefer)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds (I used slivers)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
- 1 tsp. dry mustard
- strawberries, hulled and quartered (2-1/2 cups)
- 1 romaine heart torn into bite-size pieces (6 oz.)
- 5 cups baby spinach (5 oz.)
Whisk vinegar, sugar and 3/4 (1/2 tsp.) tsp. salt together in a bowl. Transfer 1/4 cup of the vinegar mixture to a small bowl and microwave about 1 minute. Add onion, stir to combine and let sit for at least 10 minutes.
Toast poppy seeds in a nonstick skillet until fragrant or about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Allow skillet to cool a bit before toasting the almonds until fragrant and golden, 3-5 minutes.
Whisk oil, mustard, poppy seeds and 1/2 tsp. (1/4 tsp.) pepper into remaining vinegar mixture. Combine strawberries, romaine, spinach and 1/4 cup almonds in large bowl. Remove onions from vinegar mixture with a fork and add to salad. I also added the leftover vinegar mixture the onions soaked in to the dressing. Add dressing (to taste – I did not use it all) to salad and toss to combine. Adjust seasonings if needed. Transfer salad to serving platter and top with remaining 1/4 cup almonds.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
Update May 20, 2022:
While shopping at my local Kroger store I found another baking sugar alternative from King Arthur Baking Company. I have been a loyal customer for many years and have always been extremely satisfied with their products – this is a new item! In comparison to All-Purpose in the Raw KAB has half the carbs, 1/3 erythritol and includes 1g of dietary fiber. I will be buying KAB’s baking sugar alternative in the future!
This sounds like a delightful change from my usual dressing. I never thought about toasting poppy seeds. How intriguing. 🤔🍃
Thanks Gail – that’s what I wanted – a change. I’ve never heard of toasting poppy seeds either and when you smell them they are done. ATK also said when they turn brown – black seeds turning brown? go with the fragrance 🙂
Hmmm. I never knew that either. 🤔
This sounds really tasty and refreshing. I love pickled onion 🧅 and it goes beautifully in salads. I don’t put sugar in my dressings. Perhaps a tiny pinch would do?
Actually Sherry what I used is All-purpose in the raw. Plant based, gluten free, parve, and sugar free. So, just 8 carbs per 2 tsp. No sugars or added sugars? I try to stay away from refined sugar as much as possible and this stuff works 🙂
This is a beautiful salad with so many healthy ingredients. I love the addition of pickled onions – It will be on my Christmas table next year!
It’s rather healthy to start with and if you use All Purpose In The Raw – there is no sugar. Add the oil to taste. The pickled onions, strawberries and almonds add a lot of flavor 🙂 Don’t wait until Christmas to make this!
Oops i see the sugar is for the onions!
You make up the dressing and use 1/4 of it for the pickled onions. What the onions didn’t soak up I put back in the dressing. I did not use refined sugar but All-purpose In The Raw – perfectly blended to taste like sugar. Zero calories and sugar free! See my response to your first comment 🙂 The dressing was really good!
Love such fresh and crunchy salads. Perfect for the season!
Pickling the onion is a smart idea, as otherwise it can be too dominant. 🙂
Me too Ronit! The strawberries have really been sweet and I forgot how good pickled onions are in say a salad 🙂 The onion I used was very strong smelling when I peeled it and pickling made all the difference 🙂
I can also see it in a sandwich. Will give ti a try soon. 🙂
Very nice. I might have to cut back on the sugar just a bit. I’m just not fond of overly sweet dressings, but of course this one may not be. Great salad ingredients!
Hi Mimi – I cut way back on refined sugar by using this all natural sweetener that looks and tastes like sugar without a bitter aftertaste or calories, I don’t like sweet dressings either. As mentioined in my post and to Sherry I used All-Purpose in the Raw – a great substitute in my opinion 🙂 As always sweeten to taste…