Quick Pickled Strawberries and a Salad to Remember
The word got around when a girl really wanted to know.
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
More strawberries? Why yes, but savory this time. It’s spring and local berries make me insanely happy. April’s Food in Jars Mastery Challenge is quick pickling. All manner of vegetables can be pickled, with a variety of vinegars, spices and herbs. I’ve shared quick picking before, spicy red onions and earthy beets. But pickling sweet berries was an entirely new concept. When I read about Quick Pickled Strawberries I was intrigued. I had to give it a try. And wow, what a pop of flavor! Sweet and tangy, all at the same time. A salad to remember, Quick-pickled Strawberries are perfectly matched to the robust flavor and texture of kale.
Essentials
If you’re losing interest in salads, listen up, quick pickling will have you not only making healthy salads again, but craving salads again. The time it takes to make quick pickles is minimal. The tangy flavor boost quick pickles offer is nothing short of amazing. Quick pickling is not hours spent in the kitchen, chopping tons of vegetables or using canning gear. Quick pickling can be fifteen minutes of meal prep to jump start a week of healthy salads. All that is needed is a spotlessly clean jar with a tight fitting lid, vinegar and salt. The barest hint of sugar and spice add to the intrigue. The choice of what to pickle is entirely up to you.
| Quick Pickled Strawberries | |
| from Preserving by the Pint | |
| 1-1/2 lbs | strawberries |
| 2 sprigs | fresh thyme |
| 3/4C | champagne vinegar |
| 1T | fine grain sea salt |
| 1T | sugar |
| 1T | cracked peppercorns |
| Kale Salad with Quick Pickled Strawberries | |
| 1 bunch | lacinato or dinosaur kale |
| 1t | fine grain sea salt |
| 2T | fruity olive oil |
| 1T | lemon juice |
| 1/3C | grated ricotta salata |
| 2T | chopped, toasted pecans |
- Clean the kale and pat dry. Remove the tough part of the stem and slice the kale into 1/3” -1/2” wide strips. Place the kale in large bowl and add the salt, olive oil and lemon juice. With your hands, mix the salt, oil and lemon juice into the kale, massaging the leaves and making sure all the kale is covered with the dressing. At this point the salad can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours before finishing and serving.
- Add the Quick Pickled Strawberries, ricotta salata and pecans, gently toss. Transfer the salad to a serving platter or individual plates to serve.
You give me no choice 🙂 Have to make it ! Thank you so much !
Thank you!
What a nifty idea! I’ve done a fair amount of quick-pickling, but never even thought to try strawberries. I gotta try this! Genius idea! Thanks so much.
Thank you John! Pickled strawberries are quite amazing, I hope you give them a try!
Wow! these look amazing Deb, I can just tell these are delicious and would make any salad wonderful. Great idea, pinned!
Thank you Cheri! I really enjoyed this month’s mastery challenge!
I must try pickling strawberries and they sound so good in your salad.
Thank you Karen! Isn’t strawberry season wonderful?
So pretty, Deb! This is the perfect salad to celebrate spring strawberries!
Thank you Laura!
I’ve had pickled strawberries a few times while eating out but the idea of doing it myself never crossed my mind. Now it’s something I’ll have to try. Love the simple steps to do the quick pickling. Thanks for sharing the inspiration!
Thank you Yi! It’s a great recipe to welcome the beery season!
Wow, Deb! pickling strawberries would never have crossed my mind, but now that you have brought it to my attention I will have to give it a try. My friend and I regularly head to our local farmers market to get strawberries because living in Southern California, we have access to amazing local berries. Although my favorite way to enjoy strawberries is standing at the kitchen sink plucking berry after berry right into my mouth, I also happen to love them in salads. This recipe makes it very simple to elevate strawberries for a surprising hit of flavor in any salad.
Thank you Mary! Pickling strawberries is quite the flavor revelation!
These sound so yummy! I love pickled anything :). I’m just not sure if I could resist eating the whole batch before I add it to a salad!
Thank you Kelsie! You are correct, they are scrumptious!
This is absolutely gorgeous! I am sending the link to my Dad who will very much appreciate it. He lives in Florida and I think, like California, have loads of strawberries at a good price. Not so cheap here in the UK just yet as our crops are only at the leaf stage. But I will defs bookmark to try. So appealing!
Thank you Kellie! Quick pickling really adds a huge boost of flavor!
I love everything pickled and I can imagine the wonderful flavor of your pickled strawberries. I have to try your recipe when I get home.
Thank you Gerlinde! Pickled strawberries are my new, favorite salad ingredient!
How different! Have never tried pickled fruits but I won’t have any excuses after seeing such a beautiful recipe. This post made me curious!
Thank you Denise! The pickled sratawberries are amazing!
This is really interesting. I never imagined to pickle the strawberries. How nice to add to the salad! Enjoyed reading the post.
Thank you Holly! I was very pleased with the pickled strawberries!