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Spinach Salad Recipe with Fruit and Nuts
This spinach salad recipe is ideal for a light lunch or even an appetizer. You could also serve it alongside a piece of salmon or cod because it would be a wonderful side dish. The fruit and nuts go perfectly with the salad base and the dressing is tangy and flavorful. Many spinach salad recipes call for a tangy sauce because spinach is slightly sharp and the flavors combine well. You might think that using fruit, sugar, and other sweet ingredients would make the salad too sweet but the vinegar and garlic really do balance it out nicely.
You can use peaches, nectarines, or mandarins instead of the apple if you wish, and raspberries instead of the strawberries. Feel free to use ripe seasonal fruits and you will have a full-flavored, colorful salad. Any full grown or baby spinach variety is good in this spinach salad recipe; you can also use romaine.
You cannot fail to impress your guests if you serve this spinach salad recipe with fruit and nuts. This really is a healthy spinach salad recipe with antioxidant-rich fruit and the most amazing dressing. The crunchy nuts contrast well with the sweet, smooth fruit pieces in this spinach salad.
A Healthy Spinach Salad Recipe
Ingredients -
For the Dressing:
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
¼ cup walnut oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon poppy seeds
½ garlic clove, minced
White pepper to taste
For the salad:
½ cup pecans
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cups baby spinach leaves
2 cups strawberries
2 apples, diced
Large spinach leaves to serve
Preparation:
Mix the orange juice concentrate, walnut oil, vinegar, poppy seeds, garlic and pepper in a bowl and set this dressing aside. Heat the brown sugar with about a tablespoon of water in a skillet over a medium heat until the sugar melts. Add the pecans and cook for 2 minutes or until the sugar syrup begins to cling to them. Remove from heat and place nuts on a sheet of foil. When they have cooled, break apart any that have stuck together. This recipe also goes well with a little sharp or extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese in it.
Combine the spinach, apples, and strawberries in a bowl. Add the dressing and toss well. Sprinkle with the candied nuts and serve on a bed of spinach leaves.
(Serves 4)
Wine Suggestion:
Which Wine to Serve with Spinach Salad Recipe with Fruit and Nuts
A sparkling wine or Zinfandel would be a good choice of California wine for this spinach salad recipe. The flavors of the salad are a combination of sharp, tangy, and sweet and a gentle flavored wine enhances the dish, rather than overpowering it. For something a little drier, a Sauvignon Blanc is another good choice.
Photo Description:
A Picture of Spinach Salad Recipe with Fruit and Nuts - this dish makes a lite yet surprisingly refreshing appetizer or salad to start a meal the strawberries sweetness and the apples tartness blend with the sweet nutty taste of the candied pecans and the crisp taste of the spinach.
Pairing Wine with Spinach Salad Recipes
Pairing wine involves more than just "red for dark meat and white for poultry and fish" and, in fact, that is not always the best pairing anyway! To pair wine with spinach salad recipes perfectly, you need to examine what is in your spinach salad and not allow the salad to overpower the wine or vice versa. The delicate flavors of a spinach, watercress, and cucumber salad would be completely dwarfed by a big, bold red wine for example, so save that for the meat entree (if you are serving one!)
The main issue about pairing wine and salad is that salad dressings tend to be quite acidic and that makes it hard to find something, which goes well. If you are using a red wine vinegar dressing on your spinach salad recipe, for example, you will find this to be too sharp to suit any wine. The wine will taste dull and flat when served with such a dish. You need to cut down on how much vinegar you add to the spinach salad recipe dressing but not too much else, it will lack flavor.
Tips for Wine Pairing
Sherry, rice wine or balsamic vinegar can also be used to make salad dressings and these have a mellower flavor, making them easier to match with a wine. Pairing a salad with a wine is a bit of a balancing act. You will need to taste the wine with the salad or at least be familiar with both the wine you are planning to serve and the spinach salad recipe you want to make.
Serving a spinach salad recipe with fruit and nuts means the salad is going to have sweet flavors. A lot of wines contain sweet tones like pear, melon, apple, or tropical fruits. Chardonnay, Semillon, Riesling or Gerwurtztraminer are good examples. If you want to serve a red wine with a fruity salad, try a hearty Cabernet or a fruity Beaujolais with its ripe cherry and berry flavors. A salad containing raisins, apricots, figs, or dried cranberries would be nice with a fruity wine like Gamay or Grenache. Toasted nuts are nice with slightly oaky wines so if you like a healthy spinach salad recipe with plenty of nuts, try to find a lightly oaked wine.
Learn More About Wine>> California Wine Country Mini Articles are spread through out the site get a list of articles at this link.
