Strawberry Salad with Roasted Garlic

Here is one of those truly fabulous ideas that I wish I had thought of myself… and after you read this you may well wonder why you didn’t think of it too.

But thankfully, Kristina did, and wrote a blog post about it that appeared in my inbox one day last week… and I kept it there, to remind me to get the ingredients to make it, SOONER rather than later.

The only other time I have ever eaten roasted garlic was on a friend’s boat… she served it with camembert and crackers as an appie before dinner.  I remember that I really liked it but have just never had an occasion to try it myself.

Kristina’s Raspberry and Roasted Garlic Big Salad was just the motivation I needed.
Well, I went hunting for fresh raspberries yesterday in my favorite local markets… the berries growing here are not quite ready to pick yet… but they were just so darned expensive that I didn’t buy any.  But I did spy some lovely strawberries and thought they might do just as well.

So today, after The Captain washed our balcony deck and watered the flowers and tomatoes and herbs and strawberries, we decided we should have lunch out in the sunshine and I knew this salad would be perfect. A sunny and beautiful day deserves a sunny and beautiful lunch!

I referred to Kristina’s post on how to roast the garlic and then did that right away so it would be cooled before lunchtime rolled.  You cannot imagine how great it smells as it is cooking. MMMmmmm.  I am sure everyone walking past my open windows enjoyed it as well.

And of course I made enought for both of us… if you love garlic as much as we do, you won’t have to ask why!

I didn’t make it up EXACTLY like Kristina did, so will give you my ingredients and the recipe for the little dressing I made too, but you will have to check her original post to get the low-down on roasting the garlic…  it was truly fabulous! 

We both really enjoyed it and I will be making it again, certainly… but I think next time I will use a whole head of garlic for each salad. It is THAT good!  I might even add some slices of baked chicken breast and serve it for dinner.  It is absolutely company-worthy too.

Of course my Weight Watchers friends may gasp at the N.I., but just use fewer cashews and you can lower the fat content easily...

Thanks to Kristina for the great idea – and of course  her lovely photos always add to the temptation to make up her recipes, too.

Strawberry Salad with Roasted Garlic
Makes 2 servings

• 1 head garlic, roasted and cooled
• 3 cups mixed salad greens, washed and dried
• 2 mini cucumbers, sliced
• 10 strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup raw cashews

1. Tear the salad greens into bite size pieces and divide between 2 serving bowls or plates.
2. Add half of the cucumbers, strawberries, and cashews to each bowl.
3. Gently squeeze roasted garlic cloves out of their papery coverings and place half of them into each bowl.
4. Toss the salads and then spoon the dressing over the top before serving.

Strawberry Dressing
Makes 2 servings

• 1 medium strawberry
• 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp olive oil
• drizzle of lemon juice
• dash of salt

1. Mix all ingredients and then spoon half over each salad.

Per serving, salad and dressing.
Weight Watchers P+ = 9.
Calories 326; Protein 10g; Carbohydrate 24g; Fat 24g; Fibre 4g.

Printable Recipe

Raw head of garlic, sprinkled with EVOO, salt and pepper…

and roasted…. cooling on the counter.

Mine and his… waiting to be dressed with….

this little mixture.

The final product, ready to enjoy.

A sunny day and a sunny salad… I need some new unbreakable dishes for al fresco lunches.

Yup, it’s all for you!

What d’ya think?  Are you a garlic fan?

Have you ever roasted garlic?

Any other ideas as to how to enjoy it, other than on crackers?  Maybe roasted chicken?