Spinach and Fruit Salad

Intro

In our ongoing commitment to consume the recommended seven fruits and vegetables a day we end up eating a lot of salad. So we’re always looking for fast and easy options. Josie pulled this one out of the spontaneous-inspiration quarter of her brain. We had one of those big bins of spinach in the fridge, so that was the base. Being mid-winter pears were one of the best fruit options in our fridge. And we’d just made our Smoked Slivered Almonds. To complement the impromptu ensemble Josie created a sweet and tangy dressing. It turned out to be the perfect accompaniment to our pumpkin pasta recipe and is now a regular feature in our salad cycle. Though it often has a tweak or two, depending on what we have on hand, the season and our mood. When they’re in season or on sale we will sub strawberries in for the pear. And pepitas or other seeds and nuts can stand in for the almonds in a pinch. This amount of spinach is perfect for a salad superstars duo like us. Or Popeye. For mere mortals it’s probably enough for four.

Ingredients

Dressing

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, mashed

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Salad

4 cups of spinach

1 pear, sliced thin or 1 cup strawberries chopped up

½ cup smoked slivered almonds (click to see our recipe) or salted slivered almonds

Directions

  1. Add all the dressing ingredients to a measuring cup and whisk to combine. 

  2. To a large salad bowl add spinach, fruit and almonds.

  3. Pour 3 Tablespoons of salad dressing onto salad mix and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

  4. Store the leftover dressing in the fridge for up to two weeks.