Caramelized Mushrooms and Strawberry Noodle Salad
Goodbye lettuce, hello noodles! Mixing up your salad routine, these noodles take on the base for a surprising mix of rich mushrooms, sweet berries, and the lingering hint of pickled onion that is the match you didn’t realize you needed in your life!
Butter me up, baby! While the strawberries provide the pop of flavor here, I find that the richness comes from the slow cooked mushrooms. Whether using shiitake or portabella, they absorb the creaminess of the butter and provide their own umami flavor, which gives the whole dish a richness that doesn’t need much of a dressing. With this deep mushroom flavor, don’t be scared with quantity of herbs, as the nice taste of freshness is a perfect contrast.
Accessorizing is everything! With a beautiful foundation of mushrooms and noodles, the complexity of this dish really comes from the difference between the sweet strawberries and pickled onions. While the recipe calls for a quick pickling while cooking, these can be made ahead of time to save some time (I use the same process for my radishes-great addition to salads!). The vinegar taste is almost unnoticeable, but dances a tango with the rich and sweet that gives a very unique profile. While I used diced chicken here, this could easily be done with fried tofu or shrimp. Overall, this dish was a huge success, with complementary flavors that balance each other perfectly, and lead the way for not only a delicious meal but easy on the eyes!
Looking for other ways to use strawberries? Check out these recipes!
Strawberry Prosciutto Flatbread with a Balsamic Glaze
Salmon with a Strawberry Balsamic Chutney
This recipe was prepared as a challenge from the Tour of the Markets journey, where I find creative ways to use seasonal produce.
Have you tried any of these recipes or have other suggestions of ways to use strawberries??? I’d love to hear your feedback! Please comment below!
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Caramelized Mushrooms and Strawberry Noodle Salad
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Saucepan
- Skillet
- Kitchen knife
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Warm Water
- 1/2 cup Sliced Red Onion
- 2 inch Circumference Noodles of Choice I used Black Bean Spaghetti, but Soba would be great too
- 1/2 cup Fresh Strawberries
- 1 cup Shiitake Mushroom Portabella would work also
- 1 small Handful Fresh Parsley
- 1 small Handful Fresh Basil
- 2 breast Chicken
- 1/4 stick Butter
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 tsp Fresh Ginger
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
Instructions
- Start by pickling your red onion. In a small bowl, pour together vinegar, warm water, and thinly sliced onion and set aside to lightly pickle.
- In a heated skillet, sear your chicken breast. When cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
- As chicken is cooking, in boiling water, cook your noodles. When done, run them under cold water immediately to stop from cooking and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
- In saucepan, add butter, olive oil and mushrooms and slowly cook until tender and fragrant.
- Add in garlic, ginger, soy sauce and lemon juice and let simmer long enough for garlic to be cooked through.
- After dicing chicken breast and fresh herbs, add to mixing bowl with noodles, pouring over the mushroom mixture and tossing well. Top with additional fresh herbs, sliced strawberries, and pickled onions. This will have a little warmth from the mushrooms. Choice to let the mushroom mixture cool further for a colder salad, or chill once all is combined.
