Spinach Salad marinates in balsamic vinegar before being topped with orange slices, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds, resulting in a flavorful and sunshiny fresh salad.
Since we started subscribing to an organic produce co-op, we’ve been the recipients of all kinds of dark, leafy greens. This is relatively new territory for me. Growing up our only lettuce was iceberg. Spinach rarely made its appearance, let alone its cousins like chard, collard greens, choy, sorrel, or the like.
I met romaine and baby greens in college. We’ve been buds for awhile. I learned to embrace baby spinach a few winters ago in Kansas when that was really the only affordable, familiar, and decent-looking salad green in the dead of February.
But, these past few months have been a veritable whirlwind of greens. We haven’t met everyone yet, but wow! have we made some new acquaintances. And I’m learning what to do with all these greens that were previously totaly strangers: yu choy, sorrel, mustard greens, and Swiss chard.
Lately in our weekly produce box, we’ve been finding large quantities of spinach. This isn’t the baby spinach that we’re used to. It’s a little hardier and therefore not quite as tender. One way that I’ve found that we really enjoy is to marinate it in the dressing for awhile before I serve it. In this way, the spinach wilts slightly without heat, resulting in a very fresh and still crisp salad.
The addition of oranges, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds lends texture and complexity at the same time as sweet, tart, and nutty goodness.
Recipe: Spinach Salad with Oranges, Cranberries, & Sunflower Seeds
Ingredients
- 2 handfuls spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 orange, peel cut away and sliced into thin rounds
- 1 tablespoon dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Place the spinach in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle with the vinegar and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Place the dressed greens on the serving plate. Arrange the orange slices on the spinach. Sprinkle with cranberries and sunflower seeds.
- Serve immediately or wait 10 minutes before serving if using thicker spinach.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 1 to 2
Do you have a favorite recipe using greens?
Next week: Potatoes
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for hosting! I have learned to love greens, and actually start craving them when I haven’t had them in awhile.
I love spinach, but the rest of my family will only eat it buried in dressings. This might be a good compromise
Thanks!
Thanks so much for hosting!
I shared a delicious black bean and spinach pizza that my family loves and a recipe for tostadas that is really easy and quick.
nomnomnom. I like swiss chard cooked in a little oil with onions/garlic, and then topped with balsamic vinegar.
Thanks for hosting, I personally love greens of any kind!
I haven’t posted about this recipe, but I discovered it last night. Saute onion chunks (not slices; the texture is better), fresh garlic, and slivered almonds in a little olive oil. When the garlic is fragrant and the onions are a little softened (but still slightly crisp), add spinach. Stir until the spinach wilts. Sprinkle with garlic salt. I can barely taste the “green” taste that I don’t like when I cook the spinach this way.
sounds great!
One of my favorite ways to eat spinach (and one of the only ways I can get my hubby to eat it;)) is one a spinach-chicken-feta-tomato-olive pizza. I first had this type of pizza at a little place in the French Quarter, and I liked it so much that I decided to try to replicate it at home!
To make this particular pizza, use your favorite crust, sauce, and mozzarella cheese, along with the ingredients in the name.
Start by rolling out your crust in the pan and spreading your favorite pizza sauce on top. Note: if your favorite sauce has a sweet taste, you may want to use something else, as I don’t think that a sweet sauce tastes very good with the rest of the ingredients.
Then, spread a layer of washed and torn spinach leaves on top of the sauce. Sprinkle cooked, cubed chicken on top of that. (I think I use somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of a cup) Note: I typically cook the cubed chicken in a skillet in olive oil with garlic, salt, and pepper.
Next, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over all. I use a full 8 ounces for a large pizza.
Lastly, sprinkle diced, seeded tomatoes, halved black olives, and feta cheese over the mozzarella. In quantities to taste.
Bake and enjoy! (I typically bake a pizza at 400 F on the lowest oven rack for 10-12 minutes)
Not an elaborate recipe, but quite delicious!
Note: It’s important to put the spinach and the chicken under the mozzarella, otherwise they dry out too much while baking.
That sounds great!
Came across this recipe just in time for our dinner salad! We just got our food box and it had the best oranges and spinach in it! This salad was sooooo good!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the kind words.
I definitely want to make this salad! It looks so delicious–the healthy part is a bonus