Strawberry Salad with Maple Champagne Dressing and Parmesan Crisps

In the summertime I love to add seasonal fruits to my salads. This one uses butter lettuce, which is my favorite salad green. I toast walnuts (sometimes pecans) and add mozzarella balls and a delicious dressing I’ve been making for decades. To top off this scrumptious salad I add a parmesan crisp sprinkled with black pepper. This is a great salad to serve at dinner parties, or you can make it in a beautiful salad bowl and crumble the parmesan crisps over the top. I’ve also added shredded chicken to make it a complete meal!

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Ingredients

serves 4

• 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

• ¾ cup walnuts

• 4 ounces strawberries, washed, stemmed, and sliced

• 2 stalks celery, chopped

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

• 1 bunch of Butter lettuce (or 4 cups Little Gem lettuce)

• 4 ounces Mozzarella balls (small)

• 12 teaspoon kosher salt (or sea salt)

• 1/3 cup Maple Champagne Dressing (recipe follows)

Maple Champagne Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons Champagne Vinegar

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese into 4 mounds on the sheet and spread out. Sprinkle with black pepper. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Meanwhile on another baking sheet, spread the walnuts and bake for 8 minutes, until barely toasted and fragrant. Let cool completely.

In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, celery, onion, lettuce, mozzarella balls, and walnuts. Sprinkle with salt. Drizzle dressing and toss. Serve on 4 salad plates and top with a Parmesan crisp.

Maple Champagne Dressing: Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake until combined. Keeps in the refrigerator for 1 week.