Robin’s Healthy Take: Healthy Food Pairings by Robin Miller in Robin's Healthy Take, August 29, 2011
- Strawberry salad with balsamic vinegar, macadamia nuts and goat cheese.
Many foods that are good for you actually taste perfect together. Seemingly unusual pairings can make your mouth soar with delight. In fact, I bet that some of your most memorable meals contained a combination of contrasting flavors and textures – the ingredients balanced each other out while promoting the overall flavor of the dish: salty with sweet, chewy with crunchy – you get the point. Today I’m sharing with you some of my favorite pairings and I’ve added some very unique twists. In the first dish, sweet strawberries are coupled with tangy balsamic vinegar, crunchy and mildly sweet macadamia nuts and salty goat cheese, all arranged on a colorful blend of fresh greens (this makes an awesome brown bag lunch or first course for a dinner party). In the second dish, I combined the sweetness of raisins with crunchy toasted almonds, smoked oysters, salty feta cheese and refreshing sherry vinegar. I nestled the combo over a bed of fresh baby spinach. All in all, amazing. And wait until you try the third recipe: salty prosciutto, sweet melon, fresh mozzarella and crunchy celery. I hope you try these and then tell me YOUR favorite pairings!
Strawberries with Balsamic, Macadamia Nuts and Goat Cheese
Strawberries are crammed with vitamin C, nuts are a great source of protein and healthy fats and goat cheese is a good source of calcium.
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 teaspoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon good-quality olive oil
2 cups mixed baby greens or baby Romaine lettuce leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons toasted macadamia nuts or hazelnuts
4 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
Combine strawberries, vinegar and oil and toss to coat strawberries. Arrange lettuce on a salad plate. Top with strawberries. Season with salt and pepper. Top with nuts and goat cheese.
