On the Menu
Spinach apple salad
I threw this spinach apple salad together when a trip to the supermarket following a winter long weekend turned up no strawberries at all. Apples turned out to be an excellent substitute!
Strawberries and spinach go well together in a great recipe I've used for years. With no strawberries I decided to try a new variation new, an apple and spinach salad that even my daughter liked. Teenagers don't normally rave about raw spinach but this salad seemed to please everyone.
I mixed the dressing in our Vitamix blender, which turns everything into a very fine puree. You can use a regular blender or a food processor but you won't get quite the same creaminess to the dressing.
Ingredients
The salad:
1 large bunch spinach
2 Gala or other crisp non-browning red apples
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
The dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp Balsamic vineger
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1-2 Tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you like your dressing)
1 T chopped green onions (white parts only)
2 T sesame seeds
Directions
1. Wash and dry the spinach if it is not prewashed. Remove any thick stems and tear any large leaves into pieces no more than 2x3 inches.
2. Quarter and core the apples and cut into chunks 1/2" to 3/4" on a side.
3. Mix the dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender until creamy.
4. Toss the salad with the dressing until the spinach and apples are thoroughly coated.
5. Mix in the poppy seeds and toss briefly.
6. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans.
Warning - if you live in Singapore, don't use poppy seeds in a spinach apple salad or anywhere else! You could be charged with possession of illegal drugs. Strange but true.
The dressing in this recipe is higher in acid than usual. A typical dressing has two parts oil to one part vinegar, but this one has equal parts of the two. That's because spinach is an alkaline vegetable and the extra vinegar helps balance the acidity and make the spinach more palatable.
This is a good fall salad, for when the apples ripen and the fall spinach crop is starting. Of course you can make it any time of year since both spinach and apples are available year-round, but a salad in season will taste twice as good!
And if you're making it in the spring, substitute strawberries for the apples - and you'll have the salad I meant to make all along!
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