Strawberry, Ricotta, and Sunflower Seed Salad with Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette

It’s sweet, fresh, and grounded. It brings us the best of warm spring days.

Ricotta is a bit hit or miss in my book. Find a brand you really like or make your own. It’s a cinch to make and you probably won’t ever go back.  Sadly I didn’t buy extra milk to make the ricotta so I skipped it. The salad is still very good, but the ricotta with it’s creamy decadence adds an extra special taste and texture notes that is missing without it.

Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette Ingredients
½ c of neutral oil (avocado, grapeseed, etc)
¼ c extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp (packed) lemon zest
¼ c lemon juice
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
2 tsp buckwheat honey
2 Tbl tarragon (dried)
¼ tsp salt

Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette Directions
In a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, add ½ c of neutral oil, ¼ c extra virgin olive oil. Zest a lemon and put 1 tsp lemon zest (pack it) in the jar.

Apply downward pressure on the lemon with the heal of your hand and roll it back and forth. When you feel the skin give, juice it. Add ¼ c lemon juice to the jar with 2 tsp pomegranate molasses, 2 tsp buckwheat honey, 2 Tbl tarragon, and ¼ tsp salt.

Close the lid and shake until well incorporated. Taste. Adjust anything as needed. If it needs more acid, add lemon juice. If it’s too acidic (it won’t be but for something else), add lemon juice. Add salt if needed.

Notes
I use a high quality olive oil that has flavor for days. In this dressing. However, I don’t want it to compete with the lemon and tarragon. If you have a lighter olive oil, you don’t need to cut your oil. If you don’t have olive oil, you can use all neutral oil.

They honey is used as an emulsifier. From a flavor standpoint buckwheat is bold so doesn’t taste as sweet as other honeys. If you don’t want the sugar (very little per serving), you can use mayonnaise or an egg yolk. Mustard also works but not for this dressing because it is too strong of a flavor.

Strawberry, Ricotta, and Sunflower Seed Salad with Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette Ingredients
Serves 2 or 1 as a dinner salad (just add fish or chicken)

4 c of spring mix salad greens
3 Tbl Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette (freshly shaken)
¼ c ricotta (my recipe)
½ c sliced strawberries
¼ c of roasted sunflower seeds (recipe – use sunflower seeds in place of pecans)

To a dinner plate, add 2 c of salad greens. Drizzle 1 Tbl of dressing on it. Layer it with 2 Tbl of ricotta, ¼ c sliced strawberries, and 2 Tbl sunflower seeds. Repeat for the second layer except add 2 Tbl of dressing.

Notes
If I’m serving the salad to other humans, I mix the dressing with the greens before plating it.