Home Quick meals Mandarin Pineapple Salad with Basil Flowers

Mandarin Pineapple Salad with Basil Flowers

by Ann
8 comments

along with toasted walnuts, goat cheese crumbles and a fresh Strawberry Honey Poppy Seed dressing.

Mandarin Pineapple Salad with Basil Flowers, Toasted Walnuts & Goat Cheese and a fresh Strawberry Vinaigrette ~ Sumptuous Spoonfuls #salad #recipe


I found the most beautiful pineapple at the grocery store last weekend. Yes, a week ago. It smelled lovely, but didn’t look quite ready yet. I set it on the counter with the bananas to ripen and this weekend, ah yes, it was ready!

When I cut into it this weekend, I was so taken with the juicy sweetness of this lovely pineapple, I couldn’t help but munch several bits of it as I chopped. I decided it needed to swim in a salad, paired it with some mandarin oranges, creamy goat cheese crumbles, crunchy toasted walnuts and then to top it all off, basil flowers. I grabbed the strawberry poppy seed dressing that I’d made last week, and I had a most satisfying salad. And then I rejoiced because there is yet more of this yummy pineapple left to eat.

I was amazed, once again, at how a simple fruit can bring so much pleasure and joy to my life.

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Mandarin Pineapple Salad with Basil Flowers, Toasted Walnuts & Goat Cheese and a fresh Strawberry Vinaigrette ~ Sumptuous Spoonfuls #salad #recipe

Mandarin Pineapple Salad with Basil Flowers & Toasted Walnuts

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: as many as you like!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Strawberry Honey Poppy Seed Dressing:

  • 5 fresh or frozen strawberries
  • 1/4 cup red wine or cider vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons local honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons goat cheese (or cream cheese)
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

For the salad:

  • Mixed spring greens or baby spinach
  • Fresh ripe, sweet pineapple, peeled & chopped into small chunks
  • Mandarin orange segments (fresh or canned)
  • Goat cheese crumbles
  • Toasted walnuts

For the top: Fresh basil flowers (if you have them)


Instructions

  1. For the dressing: in a handi chopper or food processor, blend together all the dressing ingredients except the poppy seeds until the strawberries are pureed and it’s all nice and smooth. Stir in the poppy seeds.
  2. Make a nice bed of greens on your salad plate or bowl.
  3. Tuck in fresh pineapple chunks and mandarin orange segments.
  4. Sprinkle with goat cheese crumbles and toasted walnuts.
  5. Drizzle with the dressing and enjoy!

Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2014, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

Mandarin Pineapple Salad with Basil Flowers, Toasted Walnuts & Goat Cheese and a fresh Strawberry Vinaigrette ~ Sumptuous Spoonfuls #salad #recipe

This recipe was shared at Weekend PotluckMunching Monday, Manic MondayMelt in Your Mouth MondayRecipe Sharing MondayMarvelous Monday, Mix it Up MondayTreasure Box Tuesday, Tuesday’s TableHearth & Soul Bloghop, The Gathering Spot and Buttercream Bakehouse Rainbow Party.

 

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8 comments

Nettie March 9, 2014 - 8:50 pm

Your salad looks fabulous and I am stealing your plate! Nettie <3

Reply
Ann March 9, 2014 - 8:56 pm

Nooo, you can’t steal my plate! I love that plate … take the salad, but please, leave the plate. … LOL thanks Nettie!

Reply
Sami March 10, 2014 - 6:28 pm

This salad looks so good! Now that the weather is starting to warm up I crave salads. This will be the top of the list.
Thanks!

Reply
Ann March 10, 2014 - 7:34 pm

Me too! My body is SCREAMING for salad lately … so glad you like the recipe 🙂

Reply
Heide M. March 11, 2014 - 5:04 pm

Sounds wonderful.

Reply
Patty Haxton Anderson March 13, 2014 - 9:15 am

Hello Ann. What a gorgeous blog site! This recipe looks amazing and should be what I eat as I am should I say a “tad” over weight!

Reply
April @ The 21st Century Housewife March 17, 2014 - 1:03 pm

This looks beautiful! What a lovely flavour combination.

Reply
Ann March 17, 2014 - 6:29 pm

Thank you April! It was fun 🙂

Reply

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