This salad is a combination of two of my favourite salads: strawberry, balsamic and black pepper; and strawberry, mushroom and asparagus.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
1 cup small white button mushrooms
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon brown sugar
Few sprigs of fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon black pepper + extra
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 bunch asparagus (or use a handful of green beans), blanched
½ cup crème fraiche to serve
Squeeze of lemon juice to serve
½ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped roughly
Method
1. De-stalk mushrooms and quarter or halve them.
2. Shake olive oil, vinegars, sugar, thyme and pepper together in a jar. Pour this over the mushrooms in a large bowl and leave to marinate. After 30 minutes, add strawberries and asparagus and toss to coat.
3. Whisk the crème fraiche with the lemon juice.
4. Arrange the salad on a serving plate and spoon crème fraiche over top, followed by a sprinkling of hazelnuts and an extra grind of pepper.
Nici’s Note
The combination often surprises people, but once they’ve tasted it, they absolutely get it.
