Leafy Salad with Balsamic Strawberry

It's an interesting fact that by adding a bit of balsamic vinegar to fresh strawberries, you can actually enhance their strawberryness.  So that's what today's recipe is, very simply, Balsamic Strawberries.  You can serve them as a savory-sweet topping with mascarpone or on a slice of pound cake, or, as I've chosen to, serve them as a salad topping.

Leafy Salad with Balsamic Strawberry

Berries

1 lb fresh strawberries (1 lg container)
2 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
fresh cracked black pepper

Salad accoutrements (suggestions only)

Boston red leaf lettuce
Purple cabbage
Purple onion
Cucumber
Celery
Honey roasted almonds
Olive oil

Instead of rinsing the strawberries, just wipe them off with a damp cloth (keeps them from getting mooshy).

Cut off their green caps then quarter or halve them and put them in a small bowl.

Add in the balsamic vinegar and give your pepper mill a couple of good twists (2-3).  Mix everything together well and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to let the flavors blend.

Tear up some lettuce, add in your accoutrements of choice and top with balsalmic strawberries.  You can use the vinegar from the bottom of the container with some olive oil to dress the salad.

Simple and delicious.  Serve it by itself or as part of a dinner.

NOTE

When it comes to salad toppings, here's a little trick I picked up from Mom.  Most grocery stores these days have a pretty decent fresh salad bar (in NC, check out Kroger, Whole Foods, & Harris Teeter).  Go ahead and buy a head of your favorite lettuce and then hit the salad bar for a smattering of your favorite toppings.  That way you can get a few slices or a pinchful of something without having to commit to buying the whole vegetable.  Saves waste and allows you to vary your toppings or try something you might otherwise not.