Thai spicy strawberry salad

I always like to take full advantage of strawberry season. The tart-sweet fruit is one of my favorites. I have made a number of absolutely delicious ice creams and sorbets and here is the first of the salads for the season. This is is a very unusual salad in that it is just fruit. The salad is a beautiful red splash of color, it lights up the table. The freshness of the strawberries are complimented by the bang from the chilies, the tart from the lime juice and balanced by the fresh herb of the basil. Together, the salad is an explosion of flavors on your palate, something that is both very unexpected and very addictive. This super simple salad should be on every summer table!

I have started going to this massive volume on Thai cooking more frequently. It is packed full of recipes from a land and culture that prides itself in its cuisine. This book definitely steps out of the ordinary, a must for any cook who wants everything Thai in their kitchen and on their table. Occasionally, in this book I do come across a recipe where the ingredient is hard to find, but with over 500 recipes, there is so much more to cook.

For more wonderful recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

2-3 Thai bird's eye chilies or any very spicy red chili

3 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 2 limes

A few drops fish sauce (omit for vegetarian and vegan version)

2 tablespoons palm sugar or jaggery

2 small tomatoes, finely diced

1 lb strawberries, hulled and quartered along their length

Salt, to taste

Cut and pound the chilies in a mortar till it is a paste. Just cutting it will not do.

Mix the garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, and jaggery together and set aside.

Mix the strawberries and tomatoes. Right before serving mix in the chili paste and the dressing and salt. Serve immediately.