Sweet and crunchy salad with strawberry dressing - plus blue flowers
BERLIN - Adding fresh strawberries to a salad always makes sense.
Start by putting whatever takes your fancy into the bowl, from leafy greens to gherkins, tomatoes, peppers or avocado, says Roswitha Schemm who runs the Zehelein-Schemm strawberry farm in Franconia with her husband and son.
Top it with fresh strawberries matched with a dressing made likewise from the fruit, but puréed first. Schemm suggests you start off with a 500-gram punnet for your bowl of salad. "You eat a few whilst preparing it, add some to the salad and make a dressing, and then they're all gone," she says from experience.
Ingredients for strawberry salad dressing
100 g sweet, ripe strawberries
3 tbsp olive oil (or another salad oil)
1 tbsp light vinegar (preferably white balsamic or apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp honey or maple syrup
1 tsp mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Puree the strawberries very finely in a tall container together with the vinegar, honey and mustard.
- Emulsify: Slowly pour in the oil whilst stirring constantly (or briefly blending) until the vinaigrette takes on a creamy consistency.
- Season to taste: Season with salt and pepper.
Three tips to make your salad even more impressive
•You can add vibrancy by stirring in a small spoonful of elderberry or blackcurrant juice to make your dressing even more colorful.
•Flavor booster: Two to three finely chopped basil leaves or a little rosemary give the dressing a Mediterranean touch. A tiny pinch of chili flakes or a few drops of Tabasco lend the vinaigrette an exciting depth.
•Topping: Edible petals add a visual wow factor to your salad. Buy organic edible flowers or if you are lucky, you may have some in your own garden. Schemm loves using cornflowers. "You grasp the delicate flowers by the stem and pull them out," she says. "Then you have fine filaments that look like blue saffron."
But if you spot some borage flowers, they can lend your feast another blue highlight.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 1:22 AM.