This light salad recipe is made with fresh spring berries and a lemon verbena vinaigrette. It's the perfect way to use lemon verbena from the garden!
All I Want is Salad
We got back from Georgia on Monday night and I'm now ready for my next vacation. I think after you travel, you're supposed to feel well-rested and satisfied, but traveling only makes me want to travel more. I spent most of the car ride home Googling hotels in Hawaii and the cost of airfare to the Florida Keys.
So I guess I haven't had my fill of travel this summer. But I did leave Georgia with my fill of fabulous desserts, courtesy of my Aunt Darlene. (You're watching her on The American Baking Competition, right?!) She made mini-cheesecakes and gorgeous stenciled cookies and brownies topped with gold leaf for my cousin's wedding. Oh, and there was cake too, of course. And then the next day, we got to eat the rejects—more cookies, more brownies, and orange blossom macarons. So! Much! Food! Bingeing on sweets is always the best motivation for getting back on track with my diet. When we were leaving Savannah, I told Chris that all I wanted was salad.
"For lunch?"
"No, for the next month."
Garden-Fresh Salad
I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I'm really picky when it comes to salads. I don't like dressings made with dairy, iceberg lettuce makes me cringe, and raw tomatoes are gross. But I always enjoy salads made with fresh berries. It's like a fruit salad, guest starring greens. I used red and yellow strawberries from my garden in this salad and supplemented them with fat, juicy blackberries and sweet little blueberries.
After buying lemon verbena at Herbfest this year, I found myself unsure of how I could use it, aside from making soap. (And then I started singing "How do you solve a problem like verbena?" whenever I went outside to water the plants. I have issues.) I thought I'd try making it into a lemon verbena vinaigrette; the first time, I chopped the verbena, but since the leaves are a little bit poke-y, that wasn't the best idea. So I ended up pureeing the dressing in my Vitamix until the leaves were completely pulverized. The vinaigrette has a lemony, slightly herbal taste, with a tart kick from the champagne vinegar—it's not a sweet dressing, but that's okay because you've already got the sweetness from the berries in this salad.
Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup champagne vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup lemon verbena leaves loosely packed
- 1 5 oz package spring mix salad greens
- 2 cup fresh berries I used red and yellow strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Combine vinegar, olive oil, and lemon verbena leaves in a blender. Blend on high until leaves are pureed into the vinaigrette. (If you don't have a high-powered blender like the Vitamix, you may want to strain the dressing through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth.)
- Divide greens onto 4 plates.
- Top each with ½ cup of berries and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.
- Drizzle vinaigrette over the salad. (There might be extra—don't feel like you need to use it all!)
Christy@SweetandSavoring says
*Love that Pop Shop bottle!
*Lemon verbena leaves! Fresh berries! Oh my goodness what an appetizing salad 🙂
Kiersten says
I bought the bottle at a resale shop and I've been itching to use it ever since. 😉
Kathryn says
I totally agree with your policy on salads and I love the bright and fresh flavours of this one!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
Thank you for giving me a recipe to use for my lemon verbena! Do you have a suggestion for a vinegar replacement? I can't tolerate it very well and am never sure what to use.
I just watched your aunt last night! She and Francine are my 2 faves! That's awesome!
Kiersten says
For this recipe, you can basically do the same thing, but with olive oil only instead of half oil/half vinegar. It would be great tossed with veggies or roasted potatoes, drizzled on grilled fruit, etc. And in general, I like to replace white wine or plain old vinegar with lemon juice.
I'm glad you're watching the show! 😀
Martina says
I'm on a salad kick too after consuming copious amounts of Irish chocolate brought over by a visitor from home! Seriously good but not so good for the waist-line unfortunately
I love the photos you take of your food - they look great!
Martina
http://snapshotsandwhatnots.typepad.com
Kiersten says
I don't think I've ever had Irish chocolate before! I will have to investigate. 🙂
Hazel @ fresherfood says
That salad looks beautiful. Love the inclusion of berries to sweeten it up a bit too. Thanks for sharing!
Caitlin says
i love this fruit salad guest starring spring greens 😉 looks so light and healthy, and the lemon verbena dressing sounds so refreshing.
Daniela @ FoodrecipesHQ says
Can I confess something? I've never heard of champagne vinegar... shame on me! Sounds like something chic and classy 🙂 Anyway, I love this salad, its colors and its freshness. It also makes me think that I should experiment more with salads!
Kiersten says
I really like it! It has a tart, bright flavor, although unfortunately it's not bubbly. 🙂
Alissa N says
I am so the same way about travel!! In fact we literally went through the whole look up how much it costs to go to xyz yesterday to see if we could afford to take a trip this summer. A trip to Hawaii is a dream of mine, and we are trying to be a little frugal so we can save up to go. This salad looks awesome, I want to eat salads for a month too.. I had like 3 lbs of ravioli this weekend and have been feeling like I need to eat like only vegetables for a while to feel normal again.
Kiersten says
Chris has had no desire to go to Hawaii and I think I've finally worn him down. We're saving to go after I finish my manuscript. We always go on vacations where we're on the run the whole time and I just want to go somewhere where I can spend at least a day or two relaxing before doing the whole sightseeing thing. 🙂
Alexis @ Hummusapien says
I've never seen yellow strawberries! How adorable! I've been on the lookout for champagne vinegar...as soon as I get some I'm gonna be all over this gorgeous salad!
Kiersten says
I went to a vinegar store for it and they didn't even have it there! But our regular grocery store did. 🙂
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Gorgeous salad, I love the berries and vinaigrette!
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says
I always feel like it, like going somewhere again. Traveling is difficult 😉 This salad is perfect, can't wait for berries season.
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
Gorgeous salad! Love all the colors! Pinned! I want these yellow strawberries - can I come over to your garden and pick some? 🙂
Kiersten says
YES! I have so many, I've been letting the birds eat some of them. 🙂
Sunnie@ModernGirlNutrition says
This couldn't be more perfect for summer! Yum!
dixya| food, pleasure, and health says
im not too big into dressings with dairy either but a light salad with berries are always delicious 🙂 glad you had a great time at the wedding.
Natalie @ Once Upon a Cutting Board says
I am loving the American Baking Competition so far and I had no idea Darlene is your aunt - so exciting! The desserts you got to try from her must have been amazing; I will be rooting her for!
Kiersten says
Yay, I'm glad you're watching! 😀 It is so surreal seeing my aunt on TV.
ea-the spicy rd says
Seriously pretty salad! Although I think I will add a little goat cheese to mine 🙂 I'm with you on the travel thing~One trip just leads me to wanting more!
Kiersten says
Oh man, I can't even THINK about cheese right now after all I ate over the weekend. 😉
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
You weren't kidding that you are picky about your salads, I love all of those things you listed that you don't like! That's okay though because this salad looks so creative and tasty. I don't think I've ever seen yellow strawberries before and I've never used lemon verbena either. I'm intrigued! 🙂
Kiersten says
I know, people are always shocked that I'm a vegetarian and I don't eat most salads. 🙂
Louise says
I'm into 80/10/10 diet for more than a week now and I find this salad so yummy that I would make this one the raw vegan way. Thanks!
BusyWorkingMama says
Looks and sounds beautiful! I have some fresh baby lettuce ready for plucking out of my garden and will have to make some salad. Love the dressing! And the sunflower seeds!
Kiersten says
I could not get my lettuce seeds to sprout this year. I've been having that problem with a lot of my seeds, though--I think it may be time to buy some new ones!
Natalie says
Pretty and totally refreshing, what a perfect salad!
Ronnie Fein says
So difficult to find verbena leaves! This sounds so refreshing.
Kiersten says
Yeah, it's a bit obscure--if you don't grow it yourself, you probably won't be able to find it at the store!
Courtney @ The Fig Tree says
What a pretty salad!!! Yum! Berries in salad are the best. Lemon verbena vinaigrette sounds wonderful.
Rachel @ Rachel's Giveaways says
I don't normally use the word gorgeous for salads, but in this case I think it's appropriate 🙂
Kiersten says
Thank you! 🙂 I wish everything looked as pretty on a plate as salad does.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Wow! What a delicious and pretty recipe to eat spring on a plate 🙂
Maria Tadic says
My fav thing to do with lemon verbana is making tea with it - you steep it in hot water (with whatever other flavors you like) and it makes a great tea!
Kiersten says
I'm going to have to try that! I love herbal teas. 🙂