With strawberry season right around the corner, we wanted to create a fresh and light recipe that featured strawberries. Being in Northern Virginia, we're lucky to have some of the best strawberries but you can only find them for a few weeks. During those few weeks though we love to go to farms and get as much as we can so that we can cook and preserve them throughout the year.
While you can get strawberries year round from just about any grocery store, they really can't compare to ones grown locally that have been allowed to fully ripen on the vine before being picked. It's during those last few days on the vine where the strawberry really develops its flavor and full sweetness.
For those of you who live in the Northern Virginia area, we love to go to Great Country Farms in Bluemont, VA and Wegmeyer Farms in Hamilton, VA!
We always love making a big batch of this amazingly refreshing vinaigrette. For this recipe, you only need a few ingredients:
White balsamic vinegar differs from traditional balsamic vinegar in that it is lighter in color and has a tendency to be slightly sweeter with a gentler flavor. As opposed to traditional balsamic vinegar, white balsamic vinegar is not cooked in big copper vats over wood flames and is typically aged between 1-12 years while traditional balsamic is aged at least 12 years and sometimes for more than 100 years.
The reason we use white balsamic vinegar for this recipe is because the white balsamic has a gentler flavor and serves as a complementary role for the strawberries and mint in the vinaigrette. While you certainly can use a traditional balsamic vinegar, we find that it can be overpowering and does not offer the same balance found when using the white balsamic.
This Strawberry White Balsamic Vinaigrette truly does welcome spring and prepares your tastebuds for the promises of the coming summer flavors. With bursts of mint and lemon that perfectly complement the strawberries and white balsamic, you'll love having some in a jar on standby in your fridge and will become an instant classic.
Try it with this strawberry field greens salad!
Cheers and eat well!
This amazingly fresh flavored vinaigrette welcomes in spring while preparing your tastebuds for summer with bursts of lemon, mint, strawberry and white balsamic. Drizzle it on top of a salad and you're all set!
By bringing together our passions of cooking and photography, we created Off The Line, a destination for recipes and private events. Thanks for joining us as we take restaurant caliber recipes "off the line" and bring them into your home kitchen.
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