Spinach and Apple Salad
by Laura
Thursday is farm share day here. We typically make something quick and
easy for dinner on Thursdays to make up for the fact that the trip to
the farm means Elliot gets home later. This is usually pizza, and last
Thursday was no exception to the pizza rule. Since the farm also gave us
some miraculous November lettuce and a pound of carrots, I decided we
also needed some salad. And because we've still got some malingering
apples from last month's apple-picking trip (inspiring several other
recipes, including delish apple muffins that I will post later), I
wanted to make a fruity version of our typical side salad. The normal
balsamic vinaigrette didn't seem right, so I went online and found this
recipe on epicurious.com for spinach and
apple salad with crispy almonds. I didn't follow it to the letter,
but it served as the inspiration.
For salad:
- 1 bag baby spinach
- 1 small head green-leaf lettuce
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1-2 apples, cored and thinly sliced (toss w/ OJ to prevent browning)
- big handful of blanched sliced almonds
For dressing:
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 3 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. paprika
- 1-2 drops of sesame oil (don't overdo it!)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Wash salad greens and place in your serving bowl with carrots and apples. Prepare toasted almonds: Spread on a cookie sheet or other pan and place under the broiler for about 30 seconds (toss and repeat as needed), or toast in a small pan in your toaster oven until brown. Whisk together sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and onion, then drizzle in olive oil while whisking to combine. Pour dressing over salad and toss; top with toasted almonds.
This was so delicious! No need to fry your almonds in butter; they're fine just toasted. I also committed a fortuitous error in their preparation. I toasted the almonds in my toaster oven until they were golden, then left them there, satisfied. Of course, the oven was still hot even after the toasting stopped, so my almonds kept cooking! When I went back for them they had darked to a rather burned mahogany, but when I tasted one I found that I rather liked them. The smoky, slightly burned flavor was definitely reminiscent of bacon, which was right at home in this sweet salad. I never knew I could make a reasonable veggie bacon substitute in my own toaster oven, but lo and behold... it was good. I'm not sure if I could recreate this tasty mistake, but I'll definitely try. The rest of the salad -- farm fresh greens, carrots, and local orchard apples -- was awesome, and the dressing was a big hit. I've got a little bit left and have been dreaming about just dipping slices of apple into it.
