Ingredients

• Large strawberries, 2 pints (1 pound total weight)
• Extra-virgin olive oil, 8 tablespoons
• Sugar, 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• Red wine vinegar, 6 tablespoons
• Fresh orange juice, 1/4 cup
• Fresh tarragon leaves, 4 teaspoons finely chopped
• Blanched whole almonds, 1 cup, toasted
• Baby spinach, 9 cups
• Pecorino romano cheese, 5 ounces, shredded

Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2 Using a paring knife, hull the strawberries and cut them in half lengthwise. Spread the berries on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper. Toss to coat the berries evenly, then spread them out again. Roast until softened, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

3 In a small nonreactive bowl, whisk together the vinegar, orange juice, tarragon, the 1 tablespoon sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper until the sugar dissolves. Slowly whisk in the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil until well blended to make a vinaigrette. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

4 In a small bowl, stir together the almonds and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper. Whisk the vinaigrette to recombine, drizzle about one-third of it over the spinach, and toss well (reserve the remaining vinaigrette for another use). Taste and adjust the seasonings. Divide the dressed spinach evenly among individual plates, top each serving with an equal amount of the roasted strawberries, and sprinkle with the almonds and cheese. Serve right away.

Makes 6 servings

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