After picking a bunch of English spinach the other day I was looking for a new recipe to use it in and came across this recipe from Ocean Spray.
It looked stunning was easy to put together so why not.
As I rummaged through my cupboards and realised I did not have all the ingredients I improvised and came up with the following- my variations in italics.
Ingredients
8 ounces fresh spinach-my leaves were quite large and while they tasted great I think it would be better with baby spinach leaves. I also added a couple of hand full of herbs Rocket Coriander and a little mint.
1/2 cup feta or goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced-omitted this simply because I did not have one in the house
1/2 cup Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries- Didn’t have just craisin but used a couple of little snack packs of cranberries, blueberries and gogi berries
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds, optional- omitted these and used toasted pine nuts instead
DRESSING:
1/2 cup bottled balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest, optional
Directions
Wash and clean spinach. Tear into bite size pieces and place in a serving bowl. Add half of the feta or goat cheese and onion; toss to combine.
Combine dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Top with dried cranberries and almonds. Serve immediately.
The finished product was delicious and looking at the ingredient now I realise how healthy it is so I am sure it will become a go to dish from now on, as I often have spinach in the garden.
Why not try it, even if you do not have spinach growing at the moment, just remember to try and source organic spinach as it is on the list of the top 12 chemically contaminated vegetables so you need to be a bit wary of shop bought stuff.
Then if it is something you like it will motivate you to pop some seed in so you will have your own supply.
Let me know if you make it and if you made any variations and if they worked.
Original Internet link.
http://www.oceanspray.com/Recipes/Corporate/Sauces,-Sides-Salads/Effortless-Spinach-Salad.aspx
Happy Gardening Kathy
