Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Glazed Almonds & Lowfat Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Hello, my faithful readers! I apologize that it has been so long since I last blogged. I'm always surprised when life gets so busy. At the end of the day, I'm never quite sure how exactly it happens. I've been busy diligently selling our amazing berries, sweating through hot yoga, and driving thousands of miles. A couple of weeks ago, I found myself with a generous bunch of spinach, which prompted me to make the spinach and strawberry salad recipe from our website. It turned out quite well, and I think I may have converted a non-salad eater, but more on that later!

The recipe leads you step-by-step through making the vinaigrette dressing, the glazed almonds, and assembling the actual salad. Here's everything you'll need.

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon salad oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Glazed Almonds:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons sugar

Salad:
2 bunches spinach, stemmed, washed well and spun dry (about 8 cups)
2 cups strawberries, stemmed and halved or quartered, depending upon size
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet white onions, such as Walla Walla Sweets, if in season

As I was getting everything together, I found a flower in my spinach. Lovely!

I started by mincing the ginger. Both ginger and mincing are things that I am not very familiar with, so I think I could have spent more time getting that root finely cut. It is an important flavor component in the dressing, and it was quite noticable when a small chunk of ginger got in a bite of salad. Not unpleasant, but it drew attention away from the rest of the flavors.

To make dressing:
In a blender combine the white wine vinegar, strawberries and ginger. Process until it is a smooth puree.

In a bowl place the Dijon mustard and the honey. Whisk in the pureed strawberry mixture and then slowly whisk in the oil, emulsifying the dressing until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until needed.

Even though the recipe calls for a blender to puree the dressing ingredients, the white thingy-ma-jig in the picture above worked well to blend. I looked it up, and thingy-ma-jig is indeed the kitchen tool's name. I have never pureed before - it was exciting to see a dressing come together bit by bit.

 

One call I had to make for the "salad oil" was to use either canola or vegetable oil. I decided on vegetable oil since it has a less noticeable taste.

 The dressing with the honey and mustard in it. While preparing the two after blending the berries, I realized that I had never thought I would make honey mustard dressing from just HONEY and MUSTARD. It tasted great before I added the puree, and I'll definitely consider making honey mustard dressing again.

With the poppy seeds! Now, you are ready to make the glazed almonds. It won't take very long, and you have to watch them or else you'll get sugar burned almonds.

To make the glazed almonds:

Lightly spray a baking sheet and set aside.

Place almonds and sugar in a non-stick skillet on high heat. Start stirring with a wooden spoon. Sugar will start to dissolve and then caramelize. Stir continuously to lightly toast almonds and coat with the sugar. When almonds and sugar are the color of dark amber and golden brown, quickly remove from the pan onto sprayed baking sheet.

Spread out with spoon and let cool totally before using. Break up before serving.


NOTE: Do not touch sugar or almonds with fingers when cooking or immediately after cooking. It is molten sugar and very hot!

 All in the skillet, pre-glazing.

 One thing I would do differently is buy silvered almonds. I crushed these guys from whole almonds, and some of them were too substantial for the salad bite. Overall, they added a pleasant note of sweetness to contrast with the vinegar in the dressing. Now you're ready for the third part.

To make and assemble the salad: Place the washed and dried spinach leaves in a large salad or serving bowl. Toss with the strawberries, onions and about 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette. Sprinkle almonds on the top of salad. Reserve extra vinaigrette for another use or serve extra on the side for those that desire more. Makes 6 servings - Vinaigrette recipe makes 1 cup.

Of course, I was pleased to see that the recipe called for berries in both the dressing AND the salad. I may have added more than two cups the recipe called for. Isn't it great to see so many natural colors in both the picture above and below?

Beautiful. This is my favorite picture.

 Everything all together and ready to eat.

Me, excited to eat and a little proud. It was a really great eating experience, one that made the salad eater stop and think about the various flavors going on. The dressing really is a standout. I highly suggest making this salad. It's simple and took no longer than an hour to prepare. It even inspired someone who said that he does not usually enjoy salads to have seconds! If that doesn't speak for how good this salad was, I don't know what will. Thanks SO much for reading, and I have not decided yet what's next. I'm open to suggestions, but I think it'll have to be a recipe that calls for another berry besides strawberry. See you at the markets and around the stand!