Strawberry Salad with Toasted Coconut and Black Pepper Vinaigrette

I found this recipe while searching for something to pair with the pasta recipe that I will be posting tomorrow. I thought this recipe had a nice blend of summer ingredients and that it would be a light starter to our meal.

Recipe adapted from Oh My Veggies.

Ingredients:

For the black pepper vinaigrette:

-1/3 cup red wine vinegar

-1 teaspoon granulated sugar

-3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the salad:

-Mixed greens (I used a blend of spinach and iceberg lettuce) 

-Coarse salt and black pepper to taste

-2 cups sliced strawberries

-1/2 cup slivered almonds

-1/4 cup toasted coconut

To make the vinaigrette combine all of the ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake until well combined.

Mix together all of the salad ingredients and serve as much vinaigrette over the salad as desired.  

I really enjoyed the black pepper vinaigrette on this salad, since the other ingredients are pretty lights and the strawberries are sweet, having a really savory vinaigrette helped to tie everything together nicely.