Mixed berries, pineapple and gorgonzola come together for a great summer salad with a ginger-poppyseed dressing.
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Many years ago, a far-flung group of us came together every year for a ski vacation. We rotated it a bit between Deer Valley (Utah), Aspen, and other places in Colorado. One by one, we stopped skiing for any number of reasons, and after not seeing each other for several years, we cranked the group back up. We still rotate the locale, but now it's between our homes, and we kicked off Part II almost 10 years ago in Chicago. My friend S, who lives downtown arranged for us to take the architectural tour down the Chicago River (which was one of the best things I've done anywhere!), an art walk in her area of art shops, and a picnic at Millenium Park for a concert under the stars. But one of the highlights of the weekend was the dinner she hosted at her condo the first night we all arrived, and this salad was one of the memorable dishes of the night.
Cook's Tips:
Be sure not to over mix this salad before serving. The berries are tender, and easily bruised and crushed.
We have a nut-free house, not including the people living in it of course, but this would be wonderful with candied walnuts!
This is not designed to be a precise salad. If you prefer more berries and less pineapple, go for it!
Many poppyseed dressings have buttermilk, but I opted for a lighter dressing using yogurt. Also, if you don't care for ginger, it's easy to eliminate, although it doesn't dominate the dressing.
This is a great salad for a picnic! Just be sure NOT to dress it ahead of time.
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Berry-Pineapple Salad & Poppyseed Dressing
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Mixed Berry Salad
- 32 ounces strawberries
- 12 ounces blueberries
- 12 ounces blackberries
- 1 pineapple
- 2 ounces gorgonzola or, to taste
- 4 cups mâche rosettes or baby spinach
- candied walnuts optional
Ginger Poppy Seed Dressing
- ¼ cup minced sweet onion or white onion
- 1 ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Country Mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ¼ cup of honey I used blackberry honey
- 1 ½ tablespoon blackberry syrup or substitute honey
- ⅓ cup of raw apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup plain yogurt I used full fat
- 1 ½ teaspoons of poppy seeds
Instructions
Mixed Berry Salad
- Hull and slice the strawberries. Place in a large bowl along with the blueberries and blackberries.
- Slice off the top and bottom from the pineapple, and slice off the sides to reveal the fruit of the pineapple. Cut in rings and dice. Add to the bowl.
- Crumble the gorgonzola, and add to the bowl along with the greens and walnuts - if using. Do not toss.
Ginger Poppy Seed Dressing
- Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients through the apple cider vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil, and then the yogurt and poppy seeds. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, and very lightly toss. Serve with additional dressing on the side.
Tara
YUMMY, love everything about this salad!!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Tara!! Such a fun idea for a new blogging group. I love all the salads I'm just starting to go through now.
Wendy
This is a gorgeous fruit salad...and love the addition of ginger to the dressing! A little goes a long way, but I do enjoy it. Can't wait to try this!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Ginger is so distinctive that yes, a little goes a long way. But the other flavors balance it out pretty well ! I hope you like it if you give it a go. Love this salad group you've created !!!
lizthechef
Gorgeous - making some version of this pronto...What a shot! Can anyone join the salad group??
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Liz ! I'd love to see you join. This was our first month, and Wendy is making it very easy to participate (aka not a lot of rules). Just go to our facebook group, and request to join. Wendy will ok it right away. I don't know how to hotlink it here, so I'm updating my post and putting it at the end for you. Please join us !!! And welcome home from Hawaii!!
Kim - Liv Life
So nice to meet you!!! And what a gorgeous photo to go with your salad. The gorgonzola is a fabulous choice to complement the flavors and one I would truly enjoy. Loved your nut comment too!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Great to meet you too! I love all these salads! Thanks 🙂
Heather @girlichef
What an absolutely gorgeous salad! I really love yhe sound of the dressing...such a wonderful summer meal.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Heather!
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks for the tips and the lovely recipe, it has a fabulous mix of ingredients 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks CCU!!
Lesa @ Edesia's Notebook
Beautiful salad. Ginger in the dressing sounds like a great addition.
Marlene @Nosh My Way
A superb salad. I want to give your dressing a try PDQ.
Cindys Recipes
So summery Susan. Great pick to kick off the salad bar!
Michelle
Wonderful salad. The dressing sounds divine.
apuginthekitchen
Love the salad and the dressing. Have to look into this salad bar for some great salad idea's.
Kanak Hagjer
What a fabulous-looking salad!!
Debra
I have heard that that Chicago boat tour is great! As is this salad. I love the dressing!
Cynthia L.
Love the addition of gorgonzola to the salad. This salad would make a great summertime meal!
Liz
What a superb salad, Susan! I adore the addition of blue cheese!
mjskit
What a beautiful salad! To heck with the chicken, I'd be happy with the berry salad and that wonderful poppyseed dressing.
Christy@SweetandSavoring
Wow! Somehow the ginger poppyseed dressing takes the salad to this elegant level. Gorgeous! I'm so eager to attempt it!
Mary @ Fit and Fed
I love ginger on a fruit salad, too, I have a mango/apricot/ginger dressing one in the works. Interesting that you put EVOO in the dressing for a fruit salad, I wonder how much its flavor comes through? I hope your move is going well. And I just put in a request to join the salad blogging group, the first such group blogging venture I've participated in. Since I make so many salads anyway, I figured this would be an easy one for me to keep up with.